Facade
by HoneyCaramel
Summary: Merlin isn't the weak, clumsy fool that everyone thinks he is. He hasn't been that way since he trained to fight as a young adolescent. He keeps this facade up to better protect Arthur, and himself, from danger. What happens when that facade starts to break?
1. Hiding

**Summary: Merlin isn't the weak, clumsy fool that everyone thought he was. He hasn't been that way since he trained to fight as a young adolescent. In order to better protect Arthur, and himself, Merlin keeps the facade up. What happens when that facade starts to break?**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.**

Facade

Another week, another enemy. Merlin had barely recovered from the rogue sorcerer whom plotted to kill the king last week, and now there were reports of a group of expert assassins trying to accomplish the same goal. The whole court heard about the assassins, so security increased in the castle, especially around Arthur's room. That provided Merlin with a little sense of security, but he knew that the group was smart enough to think of a way to get to the king. He'd just have to stop them somehow.

Groaning, the young manservant rolled out of bed, aching from training last night, and got ready for work. He wasn't able to sleep well last night out of worry for his master. Once at Arthur's chambers, the two friends went about their daily routine, teasing and mocking each other, yet still managing to get work done.

Before Arthur left to attend to his duties, he turned to Merlin and said, "Remember, Lord Arnid is visiting tomorrow. He's staying for a week, and I expect you to tend to him."

He turned towards the door before he could see Merlin pale considerably. _I need to get out of this!_ Thinking quickly, the servant used the first excuse that came to mind.

"Sorry Sire, I have to go to a village and help care for the sick children."

Raising his eyebrows skeptically, the king asked, "And what _exactly_ is this sickness that is so bad, you have to go there and care for the children when a lord is visiting?"

 _Shoot, I haven't thought that far._ Laughing nervously, he answered, "I'm going to cure them of... of... of a common cold. Yeah. I'm going to care for children that are suffering from a common cold. We don't want that spreading in through the walls of Camelot."

"Merlin you better not be skipping your duties to go to the tavern again."

His eyes showed a flash of annoyance and anger when Arthur mentioned the tavern excuse that Gaius oh-so-kindly created. _As if I ever go to the bloody tavern!_ Biting back a retort, Merlin settled with rolling his eyes and going back to work as Arthur left.

After finishing his day's work, Merlin went to his chambers, starting to pack some food and water. He didn't notice Gaius enter.

"Merlin. What _are_ you doing?"

He stopped in his tracks, a loaf of bread in hand.

"Um... I'm just checking if this bread is still good to eat."

Gaius didn't believe him in the slightest, and showed it by raising his eyebrow.

"Just- Don't worry about me, Gaius. I'll stay in Camelot."

Adding the loaf of bread into his satchel, Merlin went to his room to finish packing. _I'll need a blanket, some clothes, and a few candles._ Satisfied with what he was able to fit in his bag, he went back out to where Gaius works.

Right before he left the room, he said, "If Arthur comes, tell him I'm in an outlying village, caring for sick children. They have colds."

He made his way out the castle easily. Merlin had snuck out enough times to know exactly how to do it without getting caught. Checking for any guards nearby, he stealthily entered the catacombs in which he once hid Freya. _I'll be safer here than I would be in the forest, that's for sure._

If Lord Arnid saw Merlin, all of his hard work would be lost. He'd be recognized immediately, and it would show that he never died, contrary to what the report said. Merlin didn't like that part of his life, and didn't want any reminders.


	2. Reminiscing

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I hope I'll see more of them!**

Chapter Two:

At first, he was happy to do anything to help his mother, so when she suggested he join Arnid's army, he agreed. The journey to his small kingdom, Norant, took a while, but when he got there, Merlin was easily enlisted. He trained hard everyday, and quickly mastered weapons and fighting. Eventually, the king noticed his skills, and offered him a job as a royal assassin, though no-one would know about him. Of course, this took rigorous training in stealth, wit, and speed, as well as deceit.

Throughout training, Merlin wanted to quit. He knew he was training to kill people as if they were bags of money that would be collected when their heart stops. Still, he knew that his mother needed the money in order to survive, so he kept training and strived to be the best. By the end of training, he had all the skills to be the greatest assassin to ever live.

When he got his first assignment, to kill a particularly outspoken peasant, Merlin realised that it was his chance to escape. If he got attacked by a large group of bandits, it wouldn't be too unreasonable that he would die. While he was making his way to where his target lived, he noticed a few figures lurking about in the woods. He slowed down, and made sure to look as weak as possible. Bandits love an easy target.

Suddenly (or so they thought), the bandits rushed out of hiding, and circled Merlin. With a smirk and a flash of his eyes, he knocked all of them out, and got off his horse. Wandering up to the closest man, Merlin stabbed him right in the chest. Then, he recited a spell he learned while looking through a secret library in Arnid's castle. The man now looked exactly like Merlin, and since he was dead, the spell could never fade.

With an apology, Merlin stabbed his horse. Before he left the group of unconscious bandits, he altered their memory so they thought they killed him, and his horse. To make sure it looked like there was a fight, Merlin stabbed two more bandits, and gave all of them cuts.

When Merlin didn't return after two weeks, the king stated to get worried, and sent a search party to find him. All they found was his dead body, on a bloody scene, along with two dead bandits. Since no-one other than the king knew about Merlin's job, they burnt his body and buried the ashes, instead of giving him a proper burial. Lord Arnid gave Merlin's mother a hefty sum of money, to thank Merlin for "giving up his life for the sake of Norant's safety."

He returned to Ealdor after a year in the forest. Merlin wanted to make sure that no-one was looking for him when he went back to his home, fearing that his mother would be killed if they found her harbouring him. After all, no-one was allowed to leave their job.

Knowing that her son's magic was getting too powerful to hold in, and that keeping him there would be dangerous, she sent him to Camelot, to live with Gaius. Perhaps the boy could become a physician. Before he left, Hunith told him to keep all his skills a secret, and that it might be a good idea to put up the facade of a weak, clumsy fool. Of course, Merlin agreed to do as his mother asked.

As he arrived in Camelot, and saw the mistreatment of a servant, that promise was put to the test.

After he stood up for the poor servant, and called the person mistreating them an ass, that same ass told Merlin to try to hit him. As tempting as it was, Merlin did not like to hit people for the fun of it. On the other hand, maybe he needed someone to teach him a lesson. No. He should just pretend to try and hit him to show that not everyone will allow themselves to be walked over. And so he "tried" to punch him and was sent to the dungeons. Great.

The next day, that prat decided to annoy him again.

 _"How's your knee walking coming along?" he mocked._

 _Merlin kept walking, not wanting the prince to have the satisfaction of ticking him off._

 _"Oh don't run away~"_

 _Staying calm, he turned and replied, "From you?"_

 _As arrogant as ever, the prince said, "Oh, thank god. I thought that you were deaf as well as dumb."_

 _He wasn't going to take that kind of rudeness from anyone, especially a prince._

 _"Look, I've told you you're an ass. I just didn't realise you were a royal one."_

 _Deciding to mock him a little bit, he continued, "Oh, what are you going to do? Get your daddy's men to protect you?"_

 _Arthur laughed with disbelief. "I could take you apart in one blow."_

 _With truth disguised as cockiness, Merlin said, "I could take you apart in less than that."_

 _"Are you sure?"_

That was the last straw, Merlin was going to tear him to pieces, but his mother's voice rang in his head.

 _'You can't reveal any of your skills, to any extent. It would raise questions. Keep your head low, and don't attract any unnecessary attention.'_

He was going to follow what his mother said, but Arthur already shoved a mace into Merlin's hand. Arthur was planning on teaching him a lesson, not knowing that Merlin was far more skilled with a mace than him. Merlin knew he couldn't, or wouldn't, back away, so he decided to use magic to trip up the prince and pretend he didn't know how to properly use a mace. He would have won too, if not for Gaius distracting him. The guards came up and grabbed him when Arthur told them to let him go.

 _"There's something about you, Merlin. I can't quite put my finger on it."_

By the time he finished reminiscing, the sun was up, which he could tell because of all the bustling he heard in the courtyard. There was nothing to do other than think, study, and explore. Merlin knew he wouldn't have much to do, so he brought a few books to study what Gaius does. Herbs, illnesses, injuries, and poisons. He spent the next few days studying, and exploring the catacombs.

On the sixth day of Lord Arnid's visit, Arthur decided to show him the catacombs.

"We have one of the most elaborate catacombs out of all the kingdoms. It's great if there's an enemy chasing you. If you don't spend enough time in here, you'll get lost within five minutes," Arthur explained.

"Yes, I've heard about it even in my kingdom!" Arnid joked.

Hearing the voice of his master and the man he used to work under, Merlin panicked. Calming down, he gathered all of his items and went deep into the catacombs, not forgetting to remove his footprints with magic.

"Hmm, fresh candle wax. It's still hot. Someone must be down here."

Even though he was too far to see Arthur, he recognised the voice and ventured further. This wouldn't be good, but if they searched for a while, and found nothing, they would probably give up.

"There aren't any footprints. Maybe they left."

A wave of relief washed over Merlin, but he knew better than to let his guard down. He stayed in the deeper part of the catacombs for safety. Merlin grew tired and eventually fell into a restless sleep.

During night, three days after the incident, Merlin snuck back into the castle with ease, and went to sleep in his own soft bed. When Gaius woke up, he was startled to find Merlin eating breakfast.

"Merlin! I was starting to get worried about you! What were you doing?"

Not looking up from his food, he stated, "Nothing of importance."

Knowing he wouldn't get an answer from his ward, Gaius gave up and ate some food Merlin offered him. After finishing breakfast, Merlin stood up and said, "Now, I need to attend to his royal prattiness."

When he reached Arthur's room, Merlin felt reluctant. He _did_ tell Arthur he would be gone for a week, so there _was_ no reason to worry. The servant entered quietly, shutting the door behind him, and pulled back the window curtains.

"Rise and shine!"

Arthur just groaned, then after a moment, shot up.

"Merlin! What the heck were you doing? You've been gone for _nine_ days!"

 _Good thing I prepared an excuse._ "The children took longer to recover than I expected. I only came back last night."

Arthur wanted to scoff, but there wasn't any proof against the idea of Merlin going to a village to help people, so he didn't.

"Come on, we need to get you dressed, then give you breakfast, and then I'll do my mundane chores, and you'll go listen to a mundane meeting."

While the king was eating his breakfast, he remembered something.

"Oh yeah. Merlin-" he was cut off by his door opening.

Arthur stood up to greet the guest.

"Good morning, Lord Arnid."

"Good morning, King Arthur."

The name. The voice. He could recognise it anywhere.

"Ah, Merlin, I was trying to tell you that Lord Arnid decided to stay for an extra few days to sign a trade agreement. Say hello to him."

Hiding behind a bed curtain while he made the bed, Merlin changed his voice slightly, and said, "Good morning, my Lord."

Not believing it, he replied, "Come on out, boy. I need to see you to hold a proper conversation with you."

Reluctantly, he stepped out, keeping his back towards the lord.

Wanting to test him, he said, "I knew someone that looks and sounds, exactly like you. Could you turn around for me?"

Merlin noticeably stiffened at the request. Knowing he couldn't refuse, but still not wanting to show his face, Merlin turned towards the lord, with a shirt in front of his face.

Forcing a chuckle, Arnid said, "Lower that shirt. It's not like I'm going to _hurt_ you."

Slowly, he put the shirt down, and pretended to not recognise him, even though the lord clearly recognised Merlin.

"Nice to meet you, my lord."

"The pleasure's _all_ mine, _Merlin_. Now, I must get going."

The lord turned on his heel and left.

Merlin put his head in his hands, his heart beating wildly in his chest, and muttered to himself, "Why did I have to be here?"

"Did you say something, Merlin?" Arthur asked.

"Nothing, Sire."

"What is it? You're white as a ghost and you never call me that."

"Nothing. He just reminded me of a bad man I knew."

Rolling his eyes, Arthur got up. "I'm going to the meeting. Now that you're back, you'll need to clean my room, wash my clothes, polish my armour, sharpen my sword, clean my boots," he paused with a wicked smile, "and muck out the stables."

Merlin groaned, but didn't argue, and started his work. _I know he recognised me, but obviously wasn't dumb enough to say anything incriminating. He might try to get me killed, or worse- Arthur killed._ He decided to lock the door for safety. _There is that group of assassins. What if they're coming to kill Arthur? Lord Arnid couldn't look suspicious if he was about to sign a trade agreement that would benefit Camelot._

Suddenly, he remembered something that Lord Arnid said before.


	3. Assassin Fighting

**A/N: I'll probably say it every time, but thanks for the reviews! It means a lot to me that you would take time not only to read my story, but to say something about it. Of course, I will also thank all of you who followed and favourited this story. I hope you review again, and that you ENJOY!**

Chapter Three:

 _"If I could, I would send a group of assassins to kill Uther's child. If it wasn't for Uther, my kingdom would still be large and prosperous!"_

How could he have forgotten? All Lord Arnid ever talked about was getting revenge on Uther for weakening his kingdom. At one point, Norant was one of the largest and most prosperous kingdoms in all of Albion, and magic roamed freely. When Uther banned magic and started the Great Purge, people's opinions towards magic turned negative. Under the political pressure of the other kingdoms, Arnid banned magic as well, and his kingdom suffered greatly.

Norant didn't have the best army, and used sorcerers to help defend the kingdom, so when magic was outlawed, other kingdoms advanced. They easily took large portions of land, until Norant became the smallest of the kingdoms. Lord Arnid blamed Uther for all that happened, and wanted revenge. The best way would have been to kill Arthur. Even though he couldn't get revenge on Uther anymore, he could still make Camelot fall.

With that thought in mind, Merlin stopped doing his chores, and his eyes glowed golden. He was looking around the surrounding forests, for any sign of a group of people. This could take a while. The forests were large, but if he could find one clue, it would be much easier to find them.

 _Aha!_ There was an extinguished campfire, and it was still smoldering. He looked around some more, and noticed a group of people. They had small daggers, hidden under their peasant clothing. Of course, they also had a few crossbows. _The assassins._

The group was about a day's walk from Camelot.

Today, Arnid and Arthur were going to discuss the trade agreement. Tomorrow, they would sign it. Tomorrow, the assassins will arrive.

Throughout the day, he would check to see how far the group was from the castle. They wouldn't be able to make it until morning, when the two leaders signed the document. He thought about going to "take care" of the assassins, but it would be easier to get them when they were in the castle. This was going to be a tricky game.

oOo

After yet another restless sleep, Merlin got up to do his chores. While he was walking to Arthur's room, he was pulled into a guest bedroom.

"You better not think about telling Arthur about me. Or I _will_ tell him about you." Lord Arnid hissed. He didn't know about Merlin's magic, so that was good, but he didn't want Arthur to know about his past.

"Did you come here to kill him?"

Mockingly, he answered, "Observant as ever, _Merlin_. Perhaps a skill you honed while being a ghost? There isn't much you can do while being dead, but watch."

"You taught me nearly everything I know, but that doesn't mean I'll stand by while you murder my friend. You're treading on a thin line, Arnid."

"As are you."

With that, they both left the room and went separate ways.

When Merlin reached Arthur's room, he was already up.

" _Merlin._ Would you care to tell me why you were late?"

"I got caught up in something, that's all."

"Of course, it's not like you slept in or anything," he laughed, "Just remember to show up at the meeting."

Merlin helped Arthur get dressed and ready for the signing of the trade agreement. When it was time to do so, Merlin knew that _all_ of his skills would be put to the test.

The king left before Merlin, so he was able to check where the assassins were, using magic. _They're probably in the castle by now. Maybe dressed as guards or servants, or just hiding._ Luckily, Merlin knew everybody that worked in the castle, so it was easy to spot the people that din't fit in. A few of them were dressed as guards, some as servants, and two of them hid on the area just above the council room, where it would be easy to shoot Arthur. Hurriedly, Merlin made his way towards the upper area. That was the most dangerous threat.

As always, he was able to easily slip past the guards, and climbed the stairs. _There they are._ Two assassins dressed in dark clothing were holding crossbows at the ready. Merlin caused the weapon to fall out of the men's hands, then ran up to them. Before they knew what was happening, Merlin smashed their heads together, creating a sickening crunch, knocking them out. Since the assassins were hidden, and the people were too far below to hear them, nobody noticed any of what was occurring above their heads. Immediately, Merlin tied up the assassins, making sure to remove all of their weapons, and to blindfold them encase they had magic.

Next, Merlin went back down the stairs, and eliminated the false guards by going to the real ones, and telling them that there were impostors outside the doors. The fakes were taken away instantaneously. Now, there were only the assassins inside to worry about. He entered through the servant's entrance, apologizing for arriving late. Only Lord Arnid seemed suspicious.

Lord Arnid had been waiting for nearly ten minutes for his crossbow shooters to kill Arthur, but no shots came. He couldn't delay signing much longer, so he made a discreet signal for the fake servants to attack. Chaos ensued.

Every servant, other than Merlin, had suddenly leapt forward, trying to attack Arthur. Merlin took action. First, he ran up to Lord Arnid, and hit his head hard enough to render him unconscious. Noticing that the knights were defending their king, Merlin knew that he wouldn't need to worry about the assassins over there too much.

Out of the corner of his eye, Merlin saw five assassins entering in the midst of battle. He calmly walked up to them, grabbed the first, and stabbed her in the gut. They would probably survive, but be immobile for the time being. Then, since all of the new assassins were trying to attack him, he proceeded to fight them. Merlin caught the fist of the first man to punch, twisted it around, then threw him at the group. That took out three people in total. He walked up to them, and stepped on their necks. Those three had a significantly smaller chance of surviving.

The last man, who was even larger than Percival, ran at Merlin, trying to slash him with a sword. Since Merlin was much smaller and faster than the man, he easily evaded the sword. He then grabbed a dagger out of the weapon belt he stole from one of the crossbow shooters, and stabbed the man at his heart. Staggering backwards, the assassin tried to hit Merlin one last time, and was able to slash his arm. It was a shallow wound, and could be attended to later. Merlin went up to the first assassin he stabbed, and kicked his head.

Now that he was done dealing with that bunch, Merlin looked over at the knights. Apparently, the assassins were more skillful than previously thought. It didn't help that there were around a dozen more assassins than there were knights. _I might as well assist them._

Merlin quietly sneaked up behind one of the assassins furthest from the centre of the battle, and pulled him back. The man whirled around with a mace in hand, narrowly missing Merlin's head. He furiously attempted to attack Merlin, failing each time. After a particularly forceful swing, the man went slightly off balance, leaving Merlin a clear space to stab him.

None of the other assassins, or knights for that matter, noticed that the man was missing. Merlin went up behind two more assassins, and using the mace he acquired from the now dead man, he swung at their heads. The two were instantly unconscious. The knights seemed to be gaining an advantage now. Only five more assassins stood. Merlin didn't notice an angry lord waking up.

Suddenly, Merlin heard angry footsteps approaching, along with the whooshing sound of a sword being swung, and dodged instinctively. Spinning around, he saw his mentor aiming another blow. He wasn't as lucky this time, and the sword cut his chest a bit. Quickly, Merlin ran towards one of the fallen men, and grabbed a sword from beside them.

The battle between student and teacher began. Lord Arnid was the first to strike. He lunged forward, attempting to hit Merlin's heart. Merlin blocked the attack and used the force of the lord's attack to cause him to go off balance. He then slashed Arnid's leg, in order to slow him down. In retaliation, he feigned right, then struck left. Merlin wasn't able to block the sword fully, and now was bleeding from his hip.

They circled each other, as if daring the other to make a move. This time, Merlin lunged at Arnid, but he deflected it. Quickly regaining balance, Merlin dodged the next strike, and struck the lord's other leg. It was getting harder for Arnid to stand, blood was spewing out of both his legs. Now, Arnid decided to try another technique: Distraction.

"You think you're so clever, don't you?"

Instead of responding to his comment, Merlin made another move, which was quickly blocked by Arnid. He spoke again.

"Thwarting my plans, of course _you_ would be the one to do it."

By now, all the other assassins were defeated, and the knights were watching Merlin and Arnid fight. They didn't dare interrupt. Merlin seemed to be holding his own, and they didn't want to hurt him by getting him distracted. Besides, the conversation peaked their curiosity.

"You know my secrets, but I know yours."

It was getting harder for Merlin to stay calm. He didn't want his friends to find out about his past. Merlin ducked under a high cut, and slashed the man's chest.

"Perhaps, I should tell your _friends_ about your past. Maybe, I should tell them why you are suddenly so skilled in combat."

Lord Arnid smirked. A few more comments, and Merlin would break. Still, it was getting harder and harder to fight against Merlin. Being the strategic fighter that he is, Merlin parried the next attack, and was able to slash the lord's sword arm.

Merlin spoke, "Maybe I should tell them about all the deaths you're responsible for. Maybe I should tell them about all the secret passageways in your castle. Maybe I should tell them about the secret jobs you offer."

"You would know a lot about that, won't you _Merlin_?"

Not responding, Merlin easily deflected another blow, and moved towards the lord, kicking the area behind his knees. The man toppled.

Hitting the sword out of the man's hands, Merlin put a foot on his chest, a sword aimed at the lord's throat.

"Any last words, _my lord_?"

"A message and documents will arrive for Arthur and his knights in a few days time, and your past will come to light."

With that, Merlin sliced the man's throat and turned around.

The knights, and Arthur, stood around gaping at Merlin.

"What?" he asked.

Gwaine was first to speak. "Since when were you _that_ skilled with a sword?"

"I've been watching you lot for years. It should be more surprising if I _didn't_ pick any of that up."

"That was not a beginner level. You fought like an expert! It takes years of rigorous training to get to that level!"

Shrugging, Merlin replied, "I must have been lucky."

Now, it was Arthur's turn.

"What was that conversation about, anyways?"

"Nothing. Just a crazy man trying to get me distracted. By answering, I was just getting him distracted."

"It didn't sound like nothing," Arthur mumbled.

Changing topics, Merlin said, "Now that I saved your life again, let's get the living ones to the dungeons, and have someone take care of the dead ones."

"Why won't you?" Leon joked.

Pointing to the upper area where he knocked out the first two men, Merlin answered, "I need to attend to some unconscious assassins up there."

They laughed, thinking it was a joke. Merlin climbed up the staircase, hauled the men over his shoulders, and went back into the council room.

"Could someone take them to the dungeons? I don't think I can handle their smell much longer."

Percival and Elyan grabbed the men. Arthur was the one to ask, "You _actually_ meant it when you said that there was an unconscious assassin up there?"

"Two, actually," Merlin said nonchalantly, as if this were a normal occurrence for him, which it was, not that the others knew it. Everyone started for a bit, but realising there were more important things to do, they stopped.

After everyone went to Gaius to get their wounds treated, and got everything cleaned up, night was upon them. Merlin went to sleep, forgetting about Lord Arnid's dying words. In a few days, he would get the shock of his life.


	4. Past Revealing

Chapter Four:

Five days after the assassination attempt, a messenger came, trying to take some papers to the king. The guards were not letting anybody from Norant into Camelot at the moment, so this was proving difficult for the man.

"I was sent to give these papers to King Arthur, but since _you_ won't let me in, could _you_ do it?"

"If we do, will you leave us alone?"

"Of course! It's not like I _want_ to be here anyway!" he immediately replied.

Handing the papers to a guard, the man went back on his horse, and left the two bewildered guards at the gate. They decided to bring it to the king. What's the worst that could happen?

oOo

During midday, a guard came and gave Arthur an envelope filled with papers.

"What's this?" he asked.

Shrugging, the guard replied, "Don't know. A man came and told me to give it to you."

"Alright."

Arthur accepted the papers, and went over to his desk to open the envelope. There was an old journal, and about 5 different sheets of paper. Some were notes, others were documents. _Why would anyone come here to give me this?_

He grabbed the paper at the top, which was an army enlistment sheet. Arthur looked through the list, wondering what the importance of it was, when a name caught his eye. _Merlin._

Most people didn't have surnames, so there was a high chance that it wasn't the Merlin he knew, that was on the list. The physical description was similar though.

'Black hair, skinny, dark blue eyes, pale skin, tall.'

 _That's weird._

He took another sheet of paper out. It was a drawing of a familiar manservant. _Why is there a portrait of Merlin here?_ The next thing he read was Lord Arnid's journal.

 _'There is an interesting man enlisted in my army. His name is Merlin, and he said that he signed up so his mother could make enough money to survive. He is extremely hardworking, and mastered every weapon we have, as well as hand to hand combat. He would make for an excellent assassin. I'll train him.'_

 _'I have been training Merlin for a year now, and his skills are unmatched. He is as quick as a deer, and stealthy as a cat. He is very clever, and that will work very well. I've started teaching him about poisons, and Merlin has taken a particular interest in that. It seems like he doesn't want to directly kill anyone. Well, it doesn't seem like he wants to kill anyone to begin with. He won't even kill wildlife! He says that they've done nothing to deserve being killed! Sweet boy, really. I'll need to make him get used to killing.'_

 _'Merlin has finished his training. I have successfully taught him how to shut off his emotions when killing. He is the best assassin I've ever had! Maybe I could send him to kill Uther's child one day. I'm sending him out on his first mission today. He'll be going to eliminate a man who constantly talks about getting rid of monarchy and letting the people rule. That would never work, but others are starting to believe him. He is a threat to be taken care of. Merlin will do just that.'_

 _'It's been weeks now. There has been no word from Merlin. I'm sending a search party to find him.'_

 _'The search party returned, carrying a dead body. Merlin's body. I've come to care for the boy, and it hurts to see him dead. It seems like a group of bandits surrounded and attacked him. I can't give him a proper funeral, so I'll just burn his ashes and bury them beneath a tree. He did like trees.'_

There were no more entries.

Arthur's mind was reeling. How could _Merlin_ of all people, be an assassin? Sure, it would explain why he was suddenly amazing at combat when the assassins arrived, but _Merlin_ couldn't be an assassin. He was so concentrated on his thoughts, that he didn't even notice when the man of his newly found troubles entered.

"Arthur, what's wrong? You look more confused than you usually do, and that's saying something." he joked.

When no reply came, Merlin walked over to Arthur's desk to see what was troubling his friend so much. The desk was covered in papers, and upon closer inspection, he could see that they were about him. Arthur turned towards Merlin and quietly asked, "Is this true?"

Confused, Merlin asked, "What's true?"

Suddenly, Arthur stood up and grabbed Merlin by the collar. "Is it true, that you were an _assassin_!"

Merlin turned ghastly white. "Um, Arthur? Where did you get _that_ idea from?"

The king had an idea. " _Merlin_. Gather the roundtable knights, and bring them to my room. There is a _lot_ to discuss."

Gulping, Merlin nodded and did as asked. A sign that something was obviously not right.

oOo

About ten minutes later, Elyan, Percival, Gwaine, and Leon arrived.

"What's this about?" questioned Elyan.

Arthur answered, "I got these papers today," he pushed the envelope to the centre of the table, "and they have some rather _surprising_ information."

He handed the journal to the knights, Merlin looking over their shoulders. Another ten minutes later, they finished reading. Leon was the first to say something.

"That's a funny joke, Arthur. Now, if there's nothing else, I must get going."

"It isn't a joke. _That_ was Lord Arnid's journal, and _this_ ," Arthur pulled the portrait of Merlin out, "is a portrait of Merlin."

Arthur pulled the army enlistment sheet out. "Merlin used to be in the army, before he got hired to become an assassin."

They all looked at the drawing, then at Merlin, then to the enlistment sheet, then back again. Together they said, "What?"

" _Apparently_ , Merlin has many secrets. He doesn't really talk about his past, and I assumed it was because it was boring, but I think this explains it a lot better. _Merlin_ was an assassin."

Gwaine knew that Merlin wouldn't lie to him, so he asked, "Merlin, is this true?"

Looking away, he said, "I'd rather not talk about it."

They took that as a confession.

Elyan grabbed some of the notes, and started reading them aloud.

"'Merlin's the best assassin I've ever trained! He learns very quickly, and practices in his little free time.' 'Today, Merlin mastered the art of stealth. He can move through forests during fall without making a sound.' 'I'm surprised that anyone is this skilled. Merlin has mastered weapons, hand to hand, stealth, deception, poisons, disguises, accents, and more. He will be of great use to me.' Wow Merlin, I never knew you were so talented."

Merlin was still turned away, his face now a deep red, but voice filled with regret. "I do have many talents, but I don't like to use them. If I didn't work for him, my mother would have starved. The better I did in training, the sooner I could make money for her. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone about my job, not even my mother."

Trying to break the tension, Arthur teased, "So, every time you tripped or sneezed when we were out hunting, was a ruse?"

"Definitely," Merlin turned back towards the knights, "I assume you have questions for me?"

Percival, surprisingly, was first to ask. "How did you escape? It says you _died_ , and I'm pretty sure you're not a ghost."

"It was my first 'mission' and I saw a group of bandits trying to surround me. I let them get close, and then I knocked them all out. I killed two of them to make it look like there was a fight, and then killed a man that looked like me. I burned his face a little, in order to make it harder to distinguish between me and him. Then, I killed my horse, and left."

That story was true enough. He didn't actually burn the man's face, but it would seem to convenient for someone that looked exactly like him to be there. The story probably got the knights more confused than before. Merlin explained his story from the beginning, leaving certain things out and changing a few things. After he finished, Leon was asked the question that was on all the knights' minds.

"Are you actually _that_ good?"

"Yeah," he replied simply.

Now, it was Gwaine's turn. , he asked, "Do you think that you could beat one of us in a fight?"

"I could defeat all of you at once." This comment made the knights shift uncomfortably.

Elyan asked, "Why didn't you ever show your skills?"

"As I said before, I don't like the fact I have those skills. They remind me of the past, which I didn't like. Also, I needed to keep a lower profile to prevent Lord Arnid from ever finding out that I was alive."

Arthur was last. "Why didn't you ever tell us?"

"At first, it was because it would have been dangerous for anyone to know about my past. You all are the first to know, after my mother. Not even Gaius knows. After a while, whether you like to admit it or not, we became friends, and I didn't want you to think that our friendship was built on lies. I also didn't want to you think I came here to kill you, which I didn't. If I had wanted to kill you, you would be long dead. Lastly, I didn't want any of you to be afraid of or hate me," then, he added, "This is to remain a secret. You are to never speak of this to anyone, at anytime. I forbid you to even imply the idea in any conversation."

They were all silent for a moment. Then, Gwaine had to ask, "Are there any _more_ secrets we should know about?"

Merlin imperceptibly froze for a second, then smoothly answered, "Many, but not any you need to worry about."

"Oh come on Merlin! Are you _actually_ interesting?" Arthur asked.

Smirking, Merlin said, "More than you will ever be able to comprehend."

Merlin then proceeded to stalk out of the room, and to his chambers. It was evening, and Gaius was done all his rounds for the day.

"So, Gaius, there's something I should tell you..."

He told Gaius of his dark past, sticking to the pure truth, and his mentor almost fainted on several descriptions of his training. ("They fed you poison until you were immune to most of them!?") ("And here I was, calling you a clumsy buffoon!") ("That could explain why you had your magic under such good control already when you arrived.")

By the time Merlin was done explaining, it was past midnight. They went to sleep, many thoughts going through their minds. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

 **A/N: I changed a few things in this chapter that I felt needed to be changed. I hope you liked it!**


	5. Friendly Fighting

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! I was busy, but it's here now! ENJOY!**

Chapter Five:

"Rise and shine!" Merlin bellowed while drawing back the window curtains.

Arthur just groaned, making no move to get up. Smiling mischievously, Merlin pulled the blanket off of the king's bed, causing Arthur to come down with it. He got up quickly, and grabbed the nearest goblet, throwing it at the already retreating figure of Merlin. He ducked with ease, laughing at his friend's antics.

"Why can't you ever stay still?"

Impishly, Merlin responded, "That would take the fun out of it."

As always, while the king ate, Merlin did his chores, informing his master of his schedule. Training with the round-table knights was first on the list. Arthur had an idea to make the experience _much_ more entertaining.

The two went to the training field, Merlin fully intending to sit at the side, just watching his friends train. Arthur decided that was not going to happen.

Striding over to his servant, he said, "Come on _Merlin_ , let's see if you're actually as good as you say."

Disobedient as ever, Merlin replied, "No thanks."

Of course, good ol' Gwaine decided to try to convince him otherwise. "What's the harm in a little bit of fun, eh?"

Merlin raised his eyebrows skeptically, and sighed. They really were thick, weren't they? He gestured around the training field.

"Anyone could see. My cover could be blown. I will not take such risks for the sake of fun."

Even though they were the only ones there, Merlin was right. Anyone could watch, and that could reveal his secret. Arthur had a solution.

"Fine, not here. How about the clearing where I killed the dragon? No-one goes to that area, and you can't see it from the castle."

It's not like he could convince them to drop the idea, and he had an itch to deflate the king's head a little. As such, Merlin agreed to do so, on a condition.

"If I do this, you will agree to not even _try_ to get me to do this again. Any of you."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

The walk was silent, eager anticipation filling the air. When they arrived, the knights decided that they would send Elyan to fight Merlin. After all, he had the least skill compared to the others, even if he was among the top. They didn't want to hurt Merlin's pride too much. Little did they know that it would not be Merlin's pride that would be tarnished.

"This will be a fight until surrender. The weapon is swords. No killing is allowed. Try to get your opponent to surrender by any means necessary. I strongly advise you to not actually hurt each other," he paused, making sure that both parties understood the rules. "Begin."

Merlin had a very good advantage. He had been watching Elyan train for a long time, and could anticipate his moves. Elyan had never seen Merlin properly train, so he could not do the same. They circled each other, neither making the first move.

Suddenly, Elyan charged at Merlin, trying to use the element of surprise to get him. Expecting this, Merlin danced out of the way and kicked Elyan's legs, causing him to momentarily lose balance. Merlin retreated before Elyan could retaliate. He knew Elyan wasn't tired enough to surrender, so he decided to slowly edge him on, almost _teasing_ him with the way he didn't mercilessly attack him.

Sometimes, Merlin would fake an attempt to attack, just to annoy him. After about the fourth time, Merlin actually attacked Elyan, catching him off-guard. Their swords clashed against each other, trying to gain dominance. That's what Elyan thought, at least.

Merlin pulled his sword away, twirling away from Elyan's. The man stumbled because of the sudden movement, and Merlin took the opportunity. He swiftly kicked Elyan's back, causing him to fall to the ground. Before he could stand up, Merlin stepped onto him, hit the man's sword away, and held his own sword at Elyan's back, the point just touching.

"I surrender," Elyan said.

Elyan was panting, sweat trickling down his face. Merlin helped his friend up, and they shared a grin.

Leon, who was paying close attention to Merlin, noticed something.

"Why aren't you sweating? You're not even trying to catch your breath! It's almost as if you were... As if you were... You were going easy on him, weren't you?"

Though his acting skills were great, the evidence spoke for itself. Merlin didn't respond, and just took a drink from his water-skin, pretending to not have heard Leon's question. The fight took about twelve minutes, and walking all the way to the clearing took some time, so they had less than thirty minutes remaining. Only one more person could fight against Merlin before they had to go.

"I'll fight against you," Arthur declared.

Merlin wasn't surprised. Of course, Arthur would want to fight against him. He nodded, and the same rules as before were explained by Leon. Before he could tell them to start, Merlin asked, "What's in it for me?"

The knights stood confused. Arthur inquired, "What do you want?"

"I want tomorrow off, if I win."

Arthur looked incredulous. As if Merlin could win!

"Fine. If I win, you'll muck out the stables everyday for the next week."

"Alright."

The two men grasped forearms. The deal was made. They got into their fighting stances as Leon called "Begin."

Again, Merlin had the advantage of knowing how Arthur fights. He _could_ worry that Arthur had a good guess on how Merlin fights, but he doesn't need to. The way he fights changes with each opponent, only one thing staying constant. Strategy.

Arthur was also a strategic fighter, but he was easily blinded by his ego. Merlin used that to his advantage by using the same strategy he used on Elyan. He was smart enough to not make the first move. Arthur was stronger than Merlin, and he needed to use that strength and momentum against him.

In the end, Arthur got tired of waiting for the first move and feigned a swing at Merlin. Again, Merlin had expected this, and did not react. He just stood there, waiting for Arthur to make the first move. He had learned the value of patience.

Arthur lunged at Merlin, who ducked under the blade, and jokingly swiped at the king's feet. He knew he was too far away to hit him, but it would still make Arthur tick. His ego was at stake, and he couldn't lose to Merlin. Merlin didn't feel the same way.

Annoyed by the lack of response coming from Merlin, he tried to hit Merlin again, but he deflected the sword. Again, Arthur tried to hit Merlin, and was much more direct with it. The sword aimed towards his servant's heart, and he hoped that it would scare him into fighting.

Merlin quickly parried with Arthur, and then pretended to aim for the man's right, before hitting his left. To make Arthur believe he would actually try to hit the right, he had been looking at it quite a few times throughout the battle. Of course, Arthur tried to stop the sword from hitting his right, and was too late to stop Merlin from hitting his left. The servant made sure he didn't put too much force into that, but since the prat had armour on, he knew Arthur would be fine.

While Arthur was still recovering from the blow, Merlin hit his sword, causing it to fall out of the king's grasp. He then proceeded to kick Arthur's shin, where he would not be expecting it. It's not like he expected Arthur to fall yet. Merlin sent another kick, towards the man's right side, abdomen, and then at his lower back. He put lots of pressure on the back, making sure he would fall.

Merlin put the sword at Arthur's throat, and looked at him expectantly.

"I surrender," he whispered, defeat evident.

All the knights cheered, Gwaine the loudest, at this development. Merlin held out his hand, and Arthur allowed himself to be pulled up by him.

"I guess I won't be seeing you tomorrow then," Merlin joked.

Arthur rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. The group walked back, Gwaine making a comment every now and then, causing everyone but Arthur to laugh.

After finishing his work for the day, Merlin went back to his chambers. Spotting Gaius, he said, "Guess who has tomorrow off?"

He expected to have a good sleep. He didn't have to worry about Arthur tomorrow. He could spend the whole day lounging around. For some reason, he just couldn't sleep. It felt as though something bad was going to happen tomorrow. When he was about to finally drift off into the dream world, he felt a bitterly cold chill.

An unpleasant tingling sensation ran through him, making his head spin. His head started to throb, painfully. If he wasn't already lying down, he probably would have collapsed, but that wasn't stopping him from going unconscious. Just before Merlin blacked out, he was able to recognize what the feeling was. _Magic. Powerful, dark magic._

 **A/N: I just realised that I changed the name of the lord while writing! Whoops! His name is now Arnid. If you find any more mistakes, please tell me about them!**


	6. Irritating

Chapter Six:

When Merlin woke up, his head was throbbing. _It must be the dark magic. What did it do though?_

Merlin got out of bed, eager to help Gaius today. Even if it was his day off, he wanted to help the physician, and maybe impress him with his new knowledge. Either way, it's not like Gaius would let him lounge around and do nothing all day. He liked to make Merlin work for him on his rare days off.

"Morning, Gaius!" he chirped.

"Morning? The sun's almost at its peak for the day! Just because you've got a day off, it doesn't mean you can be so lazy!"

Okay. Something was _very_ wrong. Sure, Merlin got up a little later than usual, but only by an hour or so. The tenth bell hasn't even rung yet!

Looking his guardian in the eye, he inquired, "Gaius, what's wrong? Are you feeling alright?"

Gaius looked at Merlin as if he had grown another head.

"What's wrong? You! I give you food and a home, but you can't even _try_ to help me in my work?" he snapped.

Instead of taking the bait, Merlin walked out of the door, wondering what came over his mentor. He wasn't paying too much attention to where he was going, and nearly walked right into Percival.

"Sorry, Percival. I wasn't watching where I was going," he said, sheepishly.

"Honestly, Merlin! Is it so hard to actually look ahead when you walk?" Percival grumbled.

 _Percival isn't acting like usual. He would never snap at someone for something so simple... Just like Gaius... Could this be connected?_

Merlin needed to test out his theory, even if it wouldn't feel too great. Having people be angry with you never does, after all. He walked to the market. If people really _were_ getting irritable because of magic, he would be able to see it happening there.

Going up to the nearest stall, Merlin asked for an apple. The owner of the stall, a nice middle-aged man with a balding head, seemed to have been affected as well.

"Which one?" he interrogated. "A small one or a large one? A medium sized one? A red one or a green one? Well come on boy! I don't have all day!"

Pointing to a random apple, he answered, "Just that one would be good. Thanks"

Huffing, the man gave Merlin the apple before turning to another customer. He was also irritable towards them. In fact, everybody in the market was acting strangely aggressive and irritable. Some fights were breaking out, and no alcohol was being served at this time of day.

 _Definitely something weird here._

Merlin went back to his room, and even though Gaius wasn't there anymore, he locked his door. _Better safe than sorry._ He stalked over to the loose floorboard, and pulled it off, revealing an assortment of magical items. Grabbing his grimoire, he replaced the floorboard, hurriedly skimming through the pages. He was sure that he had seen something about this in the book. Finally, his eyes landed on the page he was looking for.

 _'The Irritability Spell causes people to become extremely irritable and slightly aggressive. The longer the spell lasts, the stronger it becomes. This spell causes the people being affected by it to become weak, as it steals their energy. On the sixth day after the spell is cast, people will start to collapse and die, though many will do so before even the fourth day. It is pertinent that the spell is removed quickly, but it can only be done so when the spell casters are killed. There needs to be seven different spell casters in order for the spell to work properly. Each spell caster becomes a vessel for the spell, similar to the Sleeping Sickness Spell, except for the fact that the vessels have to do the spell themselves._

 _This spell can only be cast at night, on a full moon, with no clouds covering it. In order to cast it, each caster uses a shared knife that was just in a fire, to cut themselves and let a single drop of blood enter the bucket of water in front of them. The water must be boiling atop a fire for this. If the fire stops, or the bucket is spilled, the spell will weaken considerably, but will not stop._

 _The spell is spoken by all seven, and they must name where they want it to affect. The spell is very energy draining for both the victims and the spell casters. Spell casters usually collapse after the first two days, but wake up. If the spell goes on for longer than a week, the casters usually die. Again, the only way to stop the spell, is to kill all the spell casters.'_

Of course. It always has to be evil sorcerers, doesn't it? Never mind that, he had to figure out _where_ this spell was being cast from. He could always follow the magic trail, on foot, but that could lead him into a trap. No, he would have to use the magic tracking spell.

"ðurhl¯ædan me toward wægn drýcræft râd sê hagorûn râd êaðbylgnes!" he incanted.

Suddenly, an image formed in his mind. A cave surrounded by trees. A fire with a bucket of red water. Seven people. Seven people and someone approaching them. A lady. Lady Morgana. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could guess what was happening. The casters were working for Morgana, and would probably die with the spell.

Merlin focused hard. Since he wasn't really there, he was able to move around, like a ghost. He tried fly up, in order to figure out where he was. Succeeding, he realised that it was deep in the Darkling Woods. It would take at least a day to get there. Knowing what he had to do, Merlin pulled himself out of the trance and began to pack.

His magical staff was a difficult decision. Should he take it or not? He definitely had enough power and control to use magic without it, but it was useful to have something to channel your power with. In the end, he realised that the staff would be suspicious and burdening, so he left it.

It was evening by the time he was done packing. After eating a dinner of porridge, Merlin scribbled a quick note to Gaius, who had extra work to do because of all the fights, saying he was out and that he would be back soon. Then, he left.

 **A/N: I know this chapter is short, but I wanted to have the journey and fight to be a separate chapter. When Merlin says "** ** _ðurhl¯ædan me toward wægn drýcræft râd sê hagorûn râd êaðbylgnes!" it was supposed to be Old English for something like "Lead me to the magic of the spell of irritability!" I'm not entirely sure if it is accurate, but let's just pretend it is. Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are always appreciated._**


	7. Complicated Journeying

**A/N: Hello! Sorry about the lack of updates recently! That doesn't matter now though, because here's a new chapter for you!**

Chapter Seven:

While making his way out of the castle, Merlin saw his two best friends, Gwen and Arthur. As he got closer, he heard their conversation.

"Why did you take so long to get ready for dinner? Honestly, it's just a dress. How could it be so hard when you worked as a _servant_ for so long?"

"Look, the clothing shrunk in the wash so I needed to find another dress to wear. When I finally found a suitable dress, there was a hole in it so I needed to patch it up. Would you have preferred me walking around in a night dress for all to ogle at?"

"No, I wouldn't. Look, I'm sorry about how rude I was. I'm under a lot of pressure right now and-"

Before Arthur could finish, Gwen kissed him.

"It's alright, I forgive you."

 _They don't seem to be affected much by the spell. Their love probably had something to do with it. I remember one of the first things I learned from the book was that true love can slow the effect of spells like these. It's nice to know that their love is true._

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Merlin made his way towards the gates. Luckily, his friend, Leon, was at the one guarding the gates. It was at the very edge of the city of Camelot.

"Hi Leon! How are you?"

"Fine, Merlin. How about you?"

It was shocking that Leon wasn't irritated like the rest. Sure, there was a slightly bored look to his face, and his voice was rather flat, but he wasn't affected like everyone else.

Merlin was careful with his words. He didn't want the knight getting offended. "I'm fine too, thanks for asking. I'm going out for a bit, but I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going?" he inquired.

"Just the woods. I wanted to take a walk, and I've always liked the wilderness. When it's not quite night, and it's not quite day, the sky is so beautiful."

"My shift is ending in a few minutes, can I come with? I swear, the people here today are acting more and more rude."

Should he let Leon come too? He was the only person not affected, and would probably be helpful to have, but it wouldn't do him any good to have Leon find out about his magic.

"Well, I may take a while. I like to go deep into the forest, I'm not sure if you'll like it."

With a quirk of his brow, Leon responded, "I know it's not like me to leave Camelot on such short notice, but I need a break. I think there's something wrong with the people here, and I've been standing here the whole day. How about we leave for a few days?"

He decided to tell the truth to Leon. "I was lying when I said I was just going for a walk in the woods. There's dark magic at work here, and I'm going to eradicate the source. It's going to take a few days."

That seemed to grab Leon's attention. "What? That's incredibly dangerous!"

"I've done it before. I'll do it again."

"I'm coming with," the knight said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Alright, but you can't let anyone know, and we need to leave immediately. I'll go get supplies while you finish your shift. Most importantly, _don't move._ If I'm not here before your shift ends, stay here until I come."

After Leon agreed to do as told, Merlin left to go get some more food and medical supplies. Leon would already have his water skin on him. For a moment, Merlin wondered if he should grab some weapons, but he already had a hidden belt of weapons on him, and Leon had a sword. Realising that he didn't get a bed roll, Merlin got two of them. _Good thing I remembered._ He also wondered if it was a good idea to let Leon come.

 _If I said no, Leon would probably get suspicious and follow me. He's also a good fighter, which might help with some bandits. Either way, I don't think that we're going to get out of this without him finding out about my powers. Leon would probably accept me, as he is only alive because of the druids. He knows that not all magic is evil._

When he reached the gate, Leon was just getting off his shift. They left without any words shared. As they got deeper into the forest, Leon's curiosity finally got hold of his mouth.

"How were you not affected? How do you know this was sorcery? More than that, how do you even know where to look?"

It was very obvious that Merlin stiffened at those questions. Still, he answered.

"I know the answer to your questions, but I don't know if you can handle it at this time."

 _Well that's cryptic,_ thought Leon.

"Look, I'm sure that whatever the reason is, I can handle."

After some hesitation, Merlin said, "I believe you, but I'm not sure if you will take it too well."

"When did you get so cryptic?" he muttered.

For the first time all day, Merlin laughed. Eventually, Leon laughed too. It was weird, after all. A knight was following a manservant, who is going straight to sorcerers, to kill them. That made Leon wonder something. He never asked Merlin this, and the man never showed his opinion about it.

"How do you feel about magic anyway?" The question came out more blunt than Leon expected it too, but it got the point across. Obviously, Merlin thought _something_ about it, seeing how he suddenly stopped walking, his face guarded.

"Magic?"

Leon spun around at Merlin's voice. It was weary, and had a strange tone to it. They both stopped walking at this point.

"Yes, Merlin. Magic. How do you feel about it? Do you think of it as all evil? Do you think it's good?"

Slowly, he looked at Leon. Merlin looked older, and his eyes held a certain wisdom gained through age, experience, and loss.

"Magic is neither good nor bad. It is a tool. It can be used for good or bad. Really, it's the heart of the wielder that matters. If magic was evil, the druids would be too. Yet, they saved your life, knowing full well that you were a Knight of Camelot."

Leon nodded. For a while now, he thought the exact same thing. It was good to know that he wasn't the only one that thought that.

"I think you're right."

Now it was time for Merlin to ask.

"Let's say someone close to you had magic. They were born with it. They've only ever used it to help people. How would you react?"

 _Well that's random._ "I guess I would feel hurt that they didn't trust me enough to tell me. I definitely wouldn't turn them in, because that would be beyond stupid and cruel. I would wonder why they were foolish enough to live in Camelot. Most of all, I would wonder if they were Emrys."

Stiffening again, Merlin asked, "Emrys?"

"While I was recovering, the druids told me the prophecy of the Once and Future King and Emrys. Emrys is supposed to be the most powerful sorcerer to ever live and ever will live. He's supposed to be the only one born with magic. A warlock, I think they said. Apparently, other people can start using magic at an early age, but they can live without using it. If Emrys were to try and not use magic, they would get ill, and if they still don't use magic, they die."

"What if they were Emrys then?"

"Then I would thank them without hesitation and promise to keep their secret. Why?"

"No reason... No reason."

They walked in silence after that. The sun started to creep up over the horizon, casting a brilliant orange light over the forest. They stopped for lunch when the sun got high in the sky.

"So... What can you tell me about this spell?"

Taking a drink of water, Merlin replied, "The spell casters become vessels-"

"What are vessels?"

"Oh yeah, you didn't know. Vessels are people that keep the spell alive. The spell feeds off of their magic and life."

When Merlin finished explaining about the spell, he added, "Also, they're working for Morgana and she's probably going to try and take over Camelot in a few days."

Leon grumbled, "Why can't she ever give us a break?"

After he said that, the both of them started to laugh again. When the laughter died down, Merlin noticed something.

"Isn't it quiet? Too quiet? Bandit quiet?"

Noticing the same thing, Leon exclaimed, "Oh come on! Why do they always have to come at times like this?"

Of course, while they were discussing this, the bandits came running out of their hiding spots, eager for blood and money. Merlin grabbed a sword, the length of his forearm, out of his belt and started fighting. They were able to defeat the majority of them, but more and more kept coming. Eventually, it was four against one, with more arriving each second. Why were there so many bandits, they didn't know or care. They just had to worry about getting rid of them.

Leon noted that this was becoming a hopeless battle, no matter their skills, when Merlin said, "I hope you weren't lying."

Before he had the time to wander what Merlin was talking about, all the bandits went flying backwards, sickening cracks sounding from where there bodies forcefully hit the ground.

Since all of the bandits were dead now, (they checked) the two moved away from the bloody scene. When they reached a lake, Merlin said that they should stop and tend to their wounds.

As Merlin bandaged Leon's arm, which had gotten a nasty cut, Leon finally broke the awkward silence to create an awkward conversation.

"So... You have magic?"

Not looking up, he nodded.

 _That was probably the 'reasons' that he was talking about._

Hesitantly, Leon asked, "Are you... Are you Emrys?"

Again, Merlin nodded, but this time, he also asked a question.

"Are you going to have me killed?"

Leon's jaw dropped at this question.

"What? How could you possibly think I would let you get killed? I'll keep true to what I said. I will keep your secret and thank you. So, thank you for what you've probably done."

A smile graced Merlin's face as he continued to tend to all of their wounds. They were sitting in a comfortable silence when Leon finally spoke the question that was on his mind.

"Why did you come to Camelot in the first place?"

With a resigned sigh, he answered, "My magic was getting too strong. I couldn't control it that well anymore, so Mother sent me to Gaius, in hopes that he could help me. I protested, but when she found out that Will, my late best friend, knew about me, she instantly sent me to live with Gaius. Our village was small, and she thought that if one person could find out, all of them can."

"It's amazing that you were able to survive in Camelot without anyone finding out."

"Lancelot did."

At first, that got Leon confused, but it made a lot of sense. Merlin and Lancelot were closer than the rest of them, and they spoke in hushed tones often.

After a little while longer, Merlin finished with his own wounds as well, and they were on their way. As the sun started making it's way across the sky, Merlin stopped. Confused, Leon stopped too.

Merlin muttered a few words in a tongue Leon didn't understand, before his eyes turned golden. When they receded to their normal colour, Merlin said that they were close and should get some rest. After all, it really wouldn't do much good to be sleep deprived _and_ trying to fight angry sorcerers. They needed all the strength they could muster for the battle.

 **A/N: I know y'all were expecting a fight scene this chapter, I was too, but it's going to happen in the next one instead. Also, I just changed a few things near the end of this chapter. I realised it really didn't make sense if they took off during the evening, yet somehow made it very close before the sun started coming up.**


	8. Vessel Dueling

**A/N: Again, sorry for the late update. Better late than never though, right? If you find any mistakes, please be kind enough to point them out to me. Enjoy!**

Chapter Eight:

"How are we going to do everything undetected?"

Looking up from where he was finishing packing up their stuff, Merlin explained, "There are probably a few lookouts or guards near the cave, so we'll have to 'dispose' of the threat first. Then-"

"Why would there be anyone nearby? Can't they take care of themselves?"

"Normally, yes, but since the casters generally pass out on the second day, which is today, and the spell feeds off of their very essence, they're quite vulnerable right now."

To be honest, Leon felt a bit foolish for not figuring it out.

"Oh. Carry on then."

"Anyways, after we get rid of the guards, I would check for any kind of enchantment that was placed around the cave to prevent people from entering without notice. If there are any, I'll get rid of them," Merlin looked Leon in the eye before continuing.

"We'll have to be very careful. There is a chance that all of them are awake and ready to fight at the moment, so we would enter quietly, and then if they are conscious, I will try to cast a spell to make them immobile. Still, they might attack before I'm able to and you might get hurt. Are you okay with this?"

There was a moment of hesitation. Merlin wasn't sure if Leon would be to happy with the idea of both having magic being used to that extent in front of him, or getting hurt. Seeing the worried expression on his friend's face, Leon nodded.

"Merlin, I came knowing that this would be dangerous. We have to use _all_ our skills to dispatch the enemy as quickly as possible."

Relief flooded Merlin, and after they finalised their plans, the duo set into motion. As they agreed to do, the warlock scanned their surroundings for guards. Finding them, Merlin and Leon split up and made their way towards them. After disposing of the guards nearby, they started sneaking over to their destination, careful not to step on twigs or alert anyone of their presence.

With grace that left the knight stunned, Merlin lead the way, occasionally stopping to check for nearby guards. Once they got close enough to see the cave, Merlin cast a spell to see if there was an enchantment over it. Sensing a spell that sent a signal to the spell-casters, Merlin quickly eradicated it. Quietly, they entered the cave.

There were many twists, turns, dead ends, loops, and guards, so the only thing they could rely on to get to the spell-casters was Merlin's magic. Taking another odd turn, into a large room with four entry points, the two noticed a figure that was guarding something. They were guarding a bucket and fire.

The guard was facing away from both the fire and the duo. Knowing that it was away from the guard's view, Merlin used his magic to discreetly levitate the bucket, and dump its contents over the fire. He cringed as an audible hissing sound came, as if the fire was fighting its fate.

Though they hoped that the man didn't hear it, he obviously did, since he immediately turned around and saw the dead fire and spilled bucket. The guard looked around frantically for the perpetrators, it was only a matter of seconds before he noticed them.

 _This is going to be awkward._

Although they tried their best to stay hidden in the shadows and archway, when the guard narrowed his eyes at where their location, it seemed like he noticed them. This thought was confirmed when the man shouted, "Guys! Intruder!"

 _Really awkward._

Chaos occurred. Guards came from behind and in front, right and left, but Merlin and Leon were able to get out into the open. They didn't seem smart enough to bring any projectiles, since if they did, the two would be getting pelted by them at that point.

At first, they engaged in sword fighting. They parried, blocked, dodged, and attacked, quickly dispatching many of their opponents. When no more guards seemed to be entering, and the two were losing, (Sound similar to the bandit fight?) Merlin decided it would be a good time to use his gift.

In a flash (literally), all the guards were on the ground, dead. It was lucky that none of the guards were magic-wielders, because _that_ would've made their fight a lot more difficult.

While thinking this, the seven spell-casters decided to show up, presumably to survey the damage. A blond-haired female, likely the leader of the group, had a good sense of what happened.

"Lookie here, boys! It seems that our guards were no match for the two sorcerers. One of them is even a knight of Camelot! What are the odds?"

The group laughed, mostly because their leader, the only woman, started to. It seemed like no-one noticed the spilled bucket and remains of a fire. Once the laughter died down, Merlin decided to get some answers, not bringing attention to the fact that part of the group's spell was broken.

"Why are you siding with Morgana?" interrogated Merlin, as if he was the one in control of the situation.

Eerily, the seven replied in unison. "She has the power to bring back the Old Religion. The king is too frightened by his father's teachings to think any different. We will gladly die for our cause. Now, why are you two defending him?"

Keeping up the act of the both of them being sorcerers, Leon answered, "We believe in the future he will create. He is the king of prophecy, and we will protect him to our last breath."

Again, the seven laughed, but this time, only their leader responded. "The prophesies are mere stories, told to lift the spirits of the druids at times like this. We are not cowardly like them. We are taking action for the betterment of our kind, unlike you fools," she paused, eyes turning predatory. "I think we've had enough time to chat. You'll pay for weakening our spell."

Her hands thrust outwards, eyes golden. It was too fast for Merlin to put up a proper shield, but he was able to weaken the burst of energy. As it collided into them, Leon and Merlin staggered backwards, barely retaining their balance.

"Looks like the knight has no magic. _This_ will be easy."

While the leader was talking, Merlin gathered his magic, getting ready to throw the woman's magic right back at her. When the ball of fire came, he caught the fire, sending it back towards the group with astonishing force. Their shield prevented them from getting burnt to crisps, but they it didn't stop them from getting burnt considerably.

Quietly, Merlin whispered, "Leon, stay behind me."

Leon did as he was told, staying behind Merlin, watching the battle unfold.

The group seemed to be tiring quickly. When you're a vessel, it's a good idea to stay put and rest, not using your energy or magic. If you do, the spell will work faster, and in addition will kill all of them faster, be it the casters, or the victims.

Sure, Merlin had incomparable amounts of magic, but when you go against seven sorcerers/sorceresses that probably have more experience than you, your odds of winning are pretty split.

Lightning bolts, fire balls, invisible forces, and more, went flying in all directions. Merlin was on the defensive, putting up shields and sometimes throwing things back at the attackers. The group, obviously, was on the offensive, constantly hurling spells at the two. They didn't seem to notice that they were getting weaker and weaker, but they did notice that Merlin wasn't showing the slightest sign of exhaustion. In fact, it seemed that their spells did little more than bounce off of or disintegrate from the shield.

In reality though, keeping the shield up and that strong was taking its toll on the warlock. He knew he had to seem unaffected, but that didn't stop the sheen of sweat from forming on his forehead, or the bending of his knees, or the panting breaths. The seven didn't notice Merlin's exhaustion, to preoccupied fighting their own.

Both sides were becoming desperate. The sorcerers and sorceress started to launch many weaker spells at a faster pace, attempting to cause Merlin to falter, their attack becoming less and less coordinated. It was working, to an extent. Noting the change in strategy, Merlin knew he had to change his as well, and at the perfect time too. He wasn't sure how much longer he could've stood against the strong spells.

Merlin started to catch the magic of nearly every spell thrown at him, not bothering to put up shields anymore, and getting hit by a few spells. After a short while, the group stopped, realising that they were just giving him power. It was too late though, because Merlin used that moment to use all the magic he caught against their masters. The force was enough to send all of them flying backwards, but not enough to knock them out. They passed out either way because of the spell.

Knowing that there was no other alternative, the warlock grabbed his hidden daggers, throwing one at each enemy, ending the suffering that they would have otherwise suffered.

Leon finally snapped out of his shock at watching the sheer power of his friend twice in one day, when said friend suddenly collapsed. Apparently all the effort was rather draining. He decided that he would carry Merlin out of the labyrinth that was the cave, back out to the forest, and set up camp. It really wouldn't do for any lingering guards to attack them while they tried to rest.

After sneakily leaving the area, without any confrontation, Leon carried the servant until they were too far from the cave for any extra guards to lurk about. It was dusk by the time Merlin woke up, well-bandaged, groggily asking what happened.

"What happened, was that you helped me defeat a considerable number of guards in a fierce battle, before using magic to throw the many more guards attacking us back, effectively killing them, then fought a group of seven angry sorcerers, whose leader was a thoroughly pissed off woman, and ended up killing them as well. Oh yes! You also levitated the bucket of blood-water, and dumped it over the fire, causing the spell to become weaker on the citizens inside Camelot. You did all of that while protecting me as well, barely showing any sign of distress at the vessels' attack, until you finally passed out after defeating them. And then I carried you here, and tended to your wounds."

All Merlin did in response to that explanation was form his mouth into an 'o' shape, while looking at his bandages, the events of a few hours previous coming back to him.

"Not that it didn't turn out well in the end, but why didn't you just use your magic on the guards before they almost won against us?"

"Two reasons: The first was that I wanted to make sure more and more weren't going to come before I used my gift. The second was that using magic to throw them all back and kill them uses quite a bit of energy. I wanted to make sure we got rid of as many as we could before then."

Shock flashed across Leon's face, his mouth opening and closing in futile attempt to comprehend what he had just been told.

"Wait. Are you telling me that while you fought off the seven of them, you were weakened by using magic to throw the guards back? You fought all of them while at a distinct disadvantage?"

"Well, it's not like it put a strain on my powers. It only tired me out a bit; it doesn't help I was already tired from the limited amount of sleep I get. Plus, even though those seven were powerful, the spell was sapping at their energy and magic, so they were also at a disadvantage. We were pretty evenly matched, and it was really them that exhausted me. In fact, I'm pretty surprised that I didn't pass out in the midst of battle, with all the magic I used and defended against."

"I was so surprised when you passed out- Hold on, what do you mean 'limited amount of sleep'?"

Merlin seemed hesitant to answer. It was almost as if he'd let something slip that he hadn't meant to, or hadn't expected Leon to pick up. After a few seconds, which felt like many minutes for Leon, Merlin started speaking.

"Since no-one other than Gaius knows what I do when the sky gets dark and threats rise, and even then I don't tell him half of it, Arthur piles on a lot of work for me to do, thinking I have more than enough time to finish it. He doesn't realise that either way, he gives me too much work. Mucking out stables should be left to stable boys! I don't understand why I'm the one doing their job," at the part of mucking out stables, Merlin made an annoyed face that captured what he felt quite well.

After taking a moment, he continued, "Then, there's the fact that I'm the physician's apprentice, so I often go and collect herbs for Gaius, or even tend to patients. Of course, I also go out and fight assassins, sorcerers, sorceresses, magical beasts, and anything and everything in between. This leaves me very little time for actual sleep.

Naturally, I use magic to help me do a few chores here and there, in the privacy of my own room for safety, but Gaius doesn't understand that if I don't use it, I will get very little sleep. He scolds me each time he finds me doing that, because he's worried for my safety. Whenever I get caught, I have to finish the chores by hand, so I get little sleep for that night.

It's not like Gaius requires me to get herbs everyday, and usually only one threat comes per week. When I finally have some time to rest, I usually study healing or magic. I guess that it's sometimes my own fault for my lack of sleep."

Again, Leon was left speechless. How could Merlin live like that? It definitely didn't sound like a very healthy way of living, but surely he used his magic to stay up? Well, he did say that using larger amounts of magic left him tired, so it probably wouldn't help in the long run.

"Merlin, maybe you could explain part of the situation to them? You could be honest and tell Arthur that all the chores and being the physician's apprentice take up most of your time, and that you don't get much sleep. The same thing could be said to Gaius, and you could also tell him about more of the threats that you face, which there seem to be an abundance of by the way you talk about it. Also, I know it's important to study and all, but if you find time to sleep, you really should use it... Of course we'll probably have to take back the kingdom from Morgana before that happens."

Hearing the last sentence Leon said, Merlin laughed a little. He was sure that no other kingdom had been overtaken so many times, by a blood-relative no less! Still, it reminded him of the fact that they had to get back to Camelot, and soon.

Correctly guessing what Merlin was thinking about, because he was thinking of the same thing himself, Leon stated, "We won't be able to get too far during night. Merlin, you need to rest, you've exhausted yourself. Our camp is already set up, so how about we get a good night's rest, and keep going tomorrow?"

Realising that Leon was right, Merlin nodded, breaking into a grin at the thought of getting a long rest. While they got prepared to sleep, Leon asked the question that was nagging at his mind.

"Merlin, why wasn't I affected by the spell?"

Merlin thought it was obvious, but he responded, "You were, but only a little. The spell was the strongest at the center of the City of Camelot. It only affected the city portion of Camelot, and since you were at the very edge of it, the spell barely affected you."

"Why weren't you affected?"

Grinning, he said, "Magic."

That was the last thing they said to each other before the welcoming blanket of sleep covered them. Today, they would sleep. Tomorrow, they would worry.

 **A/N: I'm not sure how well this chapter turned out. Were there too many explanations? Did the phrase "the welcoming blanket of sleep covered them" make sense? I made it up, so I don't know. If there are parts that made little sense, please tell me about them. Sorry if the character's dialogue doesn't exactly match how they speak on the show. As always, review if you please!**


	9. Sneaky Strategizing

Chapter Nine:

Neither of the men slept well. They were constantly bombarded with dreams of Camelot's fall, and their loved ones dying. Honestly, when the bright rays of the sun cut through the darkness of night, they were more than happy to get up. Quickly, they ate breakfast and were on their way.

"Do you think that Camelot is already under her reign?" asked Merlin.

Nobody needed to ask who Merlin was referring to. "I truly have no idea. We'll just have to prepare for the worst."

Their walk was relatively silent, neither really wanting to talk about what Camelot might be like at the moment, but both still thinking of it. The two moved as quietly as they could. If Morgana or her men were anywhere near them, it would be... _unpleasant_.

As the sun started to begin its descent from the highest point in the sky, they reached the walls of Camelot. Merlin climbed a nearby tree in order to see what was happening inside. It wouldn't be very sensible for them to just enter when Morgana might be watching from the castle.

Noting that the banners were still red and gold, and that there was no blood spilling in the streets- well there _was_ a bit of blood here and there. Hopefully from a minor injury like a nosebleed. There was no sign of an army, small or large, invading the castle. Even in their relief that Morgana most likely has not taken over yet, they still noticed how absolutely no-one was moving about, doing their daily business. It was like the whole city was asleep- oh wait! It was!

Plucking up their courage, Leon and Merlin made their way into the city. Merlin bent down to the first person they saw, a collapsed guard, and checked his pulse. Then he repeated the action on several more men and women, before straightening up.

"Are they..." Leon trailed off. He didn't want to say it.

Shaking his head, Merlin responded, "No, they're all in a deep sleep. It'll take a few more hours before they come to. Some babies and elders may not have been so lucky though."

There was silence as they thought of the lives that might have been lost because of the spell. Finally, Leon asked a question that was bubbling in his mind.

"Why are they asleep right now? I thought they weren't supposed to collapse until the sixth day; it's still the third."

"When the sorcerers- and sorceress- fought me, they used up a lot of their energy. The spell feeds on it, so the spell worked faster than normal."

The duo looked around, at the sleeping villagers. Merlin spoke.

"Look, Morgana, as far as I know, doesn't like to just kill people. The villagers are probably going to be fine, for the time being. But right now, we have to find Gwen and Arthur, along with the knights and Gaius."

"We should stick together though."

With a nod of assent, the two entered the castle. Their top priority was the royalty, so they went towards Arthur's chambers, hoping their monarchs were there. Whenever they saw a guard, they tried to wake them up. Some did and some didn't. As they peeked inside the royal room, both of them let out a sigh of relief, and then entered.

After checking their pulses, Merlin wondered how he should wake them. He didn't have to worry about that though, as Leon grabbed a jug full of cold water and dumped it over their heads. The couple immediately roused from their sleep.

"Good work," complimented Merlin.

"Thanks," Leon replied.

During this few second exchange, Gwen and Arthur seemed to have woken up completely, leaving a rather livid Arthur.

"What is the meaning of this!?"

Hurriedly, Merlin explained, "Evil sorcerers, dead, broke their spell, everyone's asleep, Morgana's probably going to invade soon."

When the two made no move to get out of bed, Merlin and Leon each grabbed a hand, and yelled, "Hurry up!"

Confused, the royals followed their friends, Gwen quickly changing into attire that she could actually travel in. They went to each of the Roundtable knight's chambers, waking them up in different ways. For Gwaine, one of his rather pungent smelling socks was thrown into his face. They got a much needed laugh out of that.

They got Gaius up, and decided to plan in the physician's chambers. Who knows? Something useful might be in there.

Everyone, other than Leon and Merlin, were utterly oblivious to what was even happening. Kindly, Leon clarified.

"This group of magic-users used a spell that made everyone irritable and aggressive. Merlin and I went and defeated them, and now the spell is broken, but it will take time for people to wake and recover. They were in league with Morgana, so she's probably going to try and take over Camelot, again. Right now, we need to think of a way of keeping Morgana out-"

A sudden blast at the entrance gates of Camelot cut Leon off. Luckily, only about twenty people stormed through, lead by Morgana. They were heading straight to the castle, none of them attacking the helpless citizens.

"I think it's too late to keep them out," commented Gwaine.

Rolling his eyes, Arthur said, "You're a genius, aren't you? Anyways, we need to figure out what to do. The guards and gates can only hold them off for a few minutes. Suggestions are most welcome."

While everyone started thinking, Merlin took some bottles from a shelf, and handed one to each person, even Leon. At the raised eyebrows, he explained, "These will perk you up. The spell probably took a lot out of you. Leon, you and I should also drink these. Neither of us got a good night's rest, and we were walking for most of this day."

With a grimace, they all drank it. It perked them up instantaneously. Leon was first to think of a strategy, even though it was a little vague.

"We should split into pairs. Wake as many guards as we can. We need to spread out, and get ready to ambush. Remember, we have the element of surprise, use it."

"All right," Arthur assented, "it's a good idea. Gaius, you can't fight, but we can use some of your stuff to do something. Maybe knock people out or make them slip?"

Looking around for some inspiration, Gwen suggested, "Maybe we can wake up the guards first, and then throw water down the stairs? It'll make them slip. If we can reach the armory in time, we should get some projectiles. Arrows, daggers, even stones could be useful. Oh! What if we make something to burn? If we can get the right plants, we might be able to disorientate or knock out some of our enemies!"

Since Gwen's suggestions are always good, they agreed to do so. They split up. Percival and Gwaine took water from the kitchens, and poured in down the stairs. Elyan and Arthur went to get weapons and armour from the armoury, and after putting on their own, brought some to Gaius' chambers. Gaius and Gwen created the 'smokers' as they called it. Merlin and Leon ran about, searching for guards to wake.

Everyone reconvened in Gaius' chambers, and got a wet bandanna each, in order to prevent the smoke from getting to them. The knights all had their armour on, along with their weapons. Leon, of course, was given the crossbow. Merlin had his own weapons, which was an assortment of daggers. At the insistence of the others, Merlin also took a sword.

Gwen, Gaius, Leon, and Merlin ventured to the council room 'for safety.' (The king decided that Leon and Merlin would protect Gwen and Gaius.) Arthur and Elyan went to one stair case, while Percival and Gwaine went to the other. Hearing the footsteps approaching from below, both groups ignited their smokers and threw them down the stairs, while simultaneously raising their bandannas over their mouths.

The loss of vision and water on staircases, accompanied by the disorientating affect of the smoke, made their jobs much simpler. They shot arrows and threw knives, causing many squelching sounds as the weapons imbedded themselves in their enemies. Many of them slipped and fell, sometimes cracking their skulls on the harsh stone steps.

As the last of the smoke cleared, only eight men remained. Having the upper ground, the knights were able to easily use projectiles, but in the end, it ended up being a sword fight. Other than a few cuts and bruises, the knights were fine, though the guards seemed to not have the same fortune.

Morgana entered the throne room using the servant's entrance. She had many more allies coming soon. That was just the first wave. Success was guaranteed. As Morgana sat down on the throne that's rightfully hers, she laughed. She laughed a maniacal laugh. It was so _easy_!

What Morgana didn't notice while acting like a mad woman, was Merlin hiding behind a pillar. He knew better than to try and kill Morgana with normal weapons. She was a high priestess! It would just be a waste of time.

Merlin stepped out from behind the pillar.

"Hello, Morgana. Seems you're at it again."


	10. Repenting

Chapter Ten:

Immediately, she stopped laughing. Instead, she glared at Merlin, the man she trusted, the man that betrayed her. _He_ was the reason why things ended like this. Maybe, so many lives would not have been ended while she tried to give Camelot a queen _worthy_ of the throne. He could've just stood aside, and let her rule, but he didn't.

"Merlin, you've always been a thorn in my side. So many of my plans have been foiled by you. That won't be happening again. You'll die a painful death, like you tried to do with me!"

She was making him more and more angry. Furious, even. Why couldn't she just live in peace; leave Camelot in peace?

"I would tell you to stop living in the past, but since you've brought it up, let's talk about it. Did your sweet sister Morgause tell you that she used you like a pawn in a twisted game of chess? Did she ever tell you that she made you the vessel for the sleeping spell? That the reason I poisoned you was because if I didn't, all of Camelot would fall, and all its citizens as well?" he snapped.

"You could've told me what was happening! I only wanted Uther off the throne! I never wanted to kill everyone!"

"How would it sound Morgana? 'Hey, I know that you have magic and are really freaked out, but you're the vessel for the spell and you need to die.' Really? You would've thought I was just saying that because I thought all magic users were evil! You know what's really stupid about that? You thought it either way!

In case you forgot, I was the one that sent you to the druids for help, although that didn't end very well. I was also the one, that brought the druid boy to you, because I knew you were kind and compassionate! That's what you used to be, before you let bitterness and hate consume you. Before you turned greedy and malicious."

"How _dare_ you? How dare you act like you cared! You never did! All the while, I did! I cared for you! I loved you! I would've gladly taken the poison if you told me! But you made me go to Morgause! You're the one that pushed me into her waiting arms!

Morgause taught me many things. She taught me how to control and use my magic. She taught me that if I wanted change, I had to make it happen. She taught me the truth about my so called _friends_. She explained to me how none of you cared. She was there for me when no-one else was!"

The air was charged with magic. Their hairs rose and the earth started to shake, though that went unnoticed by the two enemies. Just before Morgana absolutely lost it, Merlin decided to comment, as any sane person would.

"I've gotta say, this is kind of funny. You used a spell that, in the end, caused everyone to fall asleep, just like your sister. Here, is the very place that I poisoned you and your heart. This is the place that everything went to hell. Here is where I almost killed the woman I loved. Now, it seems that I will."

Morgana lost it. She didn't even use any spells; she just threw raw magic at Merlin. Instinctively, he absorbed the attack, gathering her power.

"You! You had magic and you never told me! I felt so alone and scared yet you never told me!?"

Even though she desperately tried to keep the hurt from entering manifesting in her voice and appearing in her face, it did. For a moment, Morgana seemed to be the same person that came running into Gaius' chambers one day, terrified out of her wits because of her magic.

But she wasn't.

Trying to ignore the guilt that rose up in him seeing her like that, he replied, "I wanted to! I doesn't help when you have your guardian and a bloody _dragon_ breathing down your neck, telling you not to get involved."

He was too far into his rant to notice the perplexed look Morgana was giving him when he mentioned a dragon. "Maybe I would've, if you weren't already turning. You tried to assassinate the king, though you saved him, and you stole the Crystal of Neahtid. If you weren't already going against the crown, I probably would've, and we wouldn't be in this mess right now!"

Both witch and warlock had a few traitorous tears cascading down their cheeks. This had to end.

 _'The evil to your good.'_

Morgana screamed. She screamed a scream full of anger and anguish, of happiness and bitterness, of love and hate. Just like the two of them. Her magic exploded alongside her emotions.

Merlin absorbed this magic as well, used all the power he absorbed, added a bit of his own, and threw it back at Morgana. She cast a shield to protect herself, but she was still pushed back slightly by the force. Angered, she summoned a ring of fire, circling Merlin. The flames grew higher and hotter. They started to close in around the target. As it was about to touch his skin, the warlock shot water at the fire.

The water was plentiful and strong. Easily, it extinguished the flames.

Only one person could even stand a chance against her fire.

"Emrys!" she screamed.

 _'The dark to your light'_

A sad smile was given in return. Then, Merlin called forth the four elements, not really knowing _what_ he was doing, but knowing how to. It was as if the Tripe Goddess herself was providing the words for him.

" _Eorðe, lyft, fyr, wæter, hiersumaþ me,_ " he could feel his power, so could Morgana. She was quite frankly confused by what her enemy was doing. He continued chanting.

" _Eorðe, ðrýn hire of hê._ "

Vines rose from the stone, wrapping around the witch's body, forcing her to her knees. Before she could use her magic to get out, another spell was spoken.

" _Lyft, d æðm to hiera of hê mûð._ "

Air whipped around her like a small whirlwind, causing her hair to fly in all directions, and her dark dress to start flapping. She tried yelling out a spell, but air rushed into her mouth. No sound came out. She tried the spell quietly, still, no sound came out of her mouth. Even in her mind, she couldn't hear herself incanting the spell.

" _Fyr, âmerian ðone as folde ðone as wamful mægden fâg._ "

A fire burned low around her. It didn't burn her. It was purifying fire, consecrating the stone she kneeled on. What was he doing?

" _Wæter, fulwihtnian heonone sê mânweorc rumpen drýlic besettan hiere of hê!"_

A small cloud formed above her. It darkened and condensed, until it spilled water. The cloud rained holy water. Every bit of skin that was touched by the rain burned in the way the fire did not. No. He didn't have that kind of power, surely? There was no way he could get rid of her magic!

" _Hiersumaþ me. Âstîgan Sîn ðrýð hinderling ðanon ðone as healm. Strîcan hire of hê strangnes âweorpan ðone as folde mid ðæge pro rumpen hit hê tôêacan and self. Man ðynhl¯æne hearra frêolslic, hwîlum whilom hit hê must hrêowian. Sê Ofergêare Crîstes ábædeþ sîn!_ "

The elements paused. Flames stopped dancing, air stopped whirling, rain stopped falling, and the vines stopped growing. It was as if the very world was waiting in anticipation for the last act needed to be able to complete the ritual.

A knife was in Merlin's hand. He slowly walked over to the witch, and bent down to her level. His hand raised, Morgana reflexively flinched. Unexpectedly, instead of stabbing her, Merlin dragged the knife across his left forearm, leaving a trail of red liquid in its wake. Then, he did the same to her, on the right, using the side with his blood on it. He left the ring of fire, and the elements resumed to complete the ritual.

 _'The hate to your love.'_

Immediately, a searing pain shot through her, starting where her heart was, and spreading to the rest of her body. She opened her mouth to scream in pain, but the air forcefully caused the sound to remain trapped in her throat. It was as if her very soul was being torn apart, and in a sense it was.

A gold mist burst from the witch, barely seen beneath the black wisps shrouding it. The black and the gold were one. Her body thrashed and struggled against the vines keeping her in place, desperately calling for the magic that no longer ran through her veins; anything to be relieved of the pain.

Slowly, but all too quickly, it stopped. The pain was gone, leaving only the throbbing of her entire body to acknowledge that it was ever even there. The darkness dissipated, forsaken by the purifying flames that suddenly towered over her, and the holy water that was now positively pouring on her. The golden mist, the magic, finally cleansed of all the evil that it lived with, glowed brilliantly, purely, and dispersed.

The mist dashed away from its former mistress, sometimes landing on plants, making them flourish more than ever before. Other times landing in rivers, causing the water to run clear yet simultaneously turning it a wondrous blue; rehydrating the most dehydrated of animals with the slightest drop. And whatever else there was, caused dwindling fires to once again burn vigourously, and the air to be fresher than one could have possibly imagined.

Now, the vines retreated into the stone, leaving no indication it was ever there. The air calmed around her, allowing the witch to speak once more. The fires extinguished, leaving no scorch marks, but the stone was still warm from where it burned. The clouds raced out of the window, joining the others floating high in the sky.

Morgana let out a guttural scream. Tears streaked her face, and her shoulders slumped in defeat. She felt so empty. Her magic, the very thing that made her _her_ , was gone. Yet, she couldn't feel bitter and angry. She couldn't feel hatred. She _should_ feel it, but she didn't. The evil now removed from her body, her mind was clear and _sane_ , for the first time in years. And for everything she had caused, she could only feel remorse.

"Oh what have I done?" she sobbed. She had wronged so many people. Hurt those that were trying to help. Forced the man she loved to make an impossible decision, and didn't accept it when he made the right one. She betrayed everyone that cared for her. She was the hate to their love. She was the hate to _Merlin's_ love.

And she couldn't live with that.

She grabbed the discarded knife from the ground. A sobbing Merlin had thrown it, knowing the amount of pain Morgana was in because of him, again. A little ways away, he had his hands and knees on the ground, as if begging for forgiveness from the goddesses.

Morgana went to Merlin, and lifted his head. She made him stand up, softly kissing him, and then leaning her back against him as a silent request.

He held her, crying harder than before, knowing what she was going to do; that she could not be saved, nor did she want to be.

"I'm sorry, my love," she whispered.

She plunged the knife into her chest, directly through the heart. No longer a High Priestess, she would die. And she was glad.

Now, she could be the good to his good. The light to his light. The love to his love. She would die happily. Morgana took her last ragged breath, and never let it out. Her eyes were closed, as if in eternal rest.

"I'm sorry too, my love. I'm sorry too."

Merlin stayed like that, hugging the corpse of his love and his enemy, for a long time. Or maybe it was only a few minutes. He didn't know. All he knew was that Morgana was dead.

What he didn't know, was that there was a group of knights, a king, a queen, and a physician, that witnessed the whole scene.

 **A/N:** **The spells used:**

 **Element calling spell: Earth, air, fire, water, obey me.**

 **Magic stripping spell: Obey Me. Return her power to the land for she twisted it for self. She wasted her privilege, now she must repent. Return her power back to the land whence it blessed the wicked witch. The old religion repels her!**

 **Earth Spell starts with earth, and is about binding her.**

 **Air Spell starts with air, and is about keeping air inside her mouth.**

 **Fire Spell starts with fire, and is about purifying the ground that she (the impure maiden) was on.**

 **Water Spell starts with water, and is about washing away her sinful and twisted magic, if I remember correctly.**

 **If you're wondering why I don't know the correct translations, it is because I didn't write them down... Whoops! I hope this wasn't overkill. This chapter took the most amount of time to write out of any of my previous chapters! I don't know how many more chapters there are going to be, but it's probably not more than five. Probably.**

 **Reviews are always appreciated! And if you've read all the way down here, thanks for reading!**


	11. Army Eliminating

**A/N: Hello! This chapter was probably one of the hardest for me to write, but it's done, so yay! Thank you to all the people that read, followed, favourited, or reviewed this story so far. It's extremely appreciated and makes me oh so happy!**

Chapter Eleven:

"Sire, calm down," ordered Leon, preventing an infuriated king from approaching, and possibly killing, his warlock-manservant.

Merlin had slipped away while they were going to the council room, saying something about hearing a noise. Leon had guessed that Merlin was actually fighting Morgana, and he was right, but when the servant didn't return after some time, and the others already made their way back to the council room, Gwen started to panic. After all, Merlin was the queen's best and closest friend.

After waiting a little longer, Arthur made the decision to go look for his manservant. And so, they decided to look around the hallways, before checking the throne room. As they got closer, a muffled, but clearly diabolical laughter could be heard. At Gwen's suggestion, they decided to look inside from the servant's entrance.

When they finally made it to the discreet entryway, the laughter was gone, replaced by the voices of two _very_ familiar people. It was Merlin and Morgana, and they seemed to be having a screaming match. Most of the things they were 'talking' about made no sense to the group. Love? Poison? What was _that_ about?

Then, Morgana shot magic at Merlin. They were about to ambush her from behind, when Merlin _absorbed_ it, using _magic_. Too shocked to do anything, they stayed where they were, watching the scene unfold.

More talking/screaming, magic, and a ritual later, Morgana kissed Merlin, stabbed herself, and died in his arms. She even called him 'my love.' After she died, Merlin called _her_ 'my love' too, then proceeded to cry his heart out, and still, was crying. They were supposed to _hate_ each other, not _love_ each other!

Now, an angry King Arthur was trying to get over to his manservant, and was being held back by Gwaine and Leon.

Said king turned towards his second-in-command and hissed, "Calm down? How the bloody hell am I supposed to 'calm down' after I realise that my best friend for nearly a decade, is a _sorcerer_? You heard him, he's in love with Morgana! He was probably plotting with her this whole time! To think I even _trusted_ him repulses-"

A hard slap to Arthur's face, delivered by Guinevere, stopped his rant. As they were in the servant's entrance, far away from the warlock, Merlin couldn't hear their hushed conversation or the slap. His sobs covered up the sound pretty well too.

The king was still in shock from his usually harmless and sweet wife's angry slap, allowing her the chance to speak.

" _Don't_ talk about him like that! He is my best friend and I will _not_ allow you to accuse him of betraying us in that way! _I've_ known for a long time now, though he doesn't know that I do, and I can assure you that he has never done harm with his gifts! In fact, he has saved all of our lives, and the very _kingdom_ over and over again! If it wasn't for him, none of us would even be alive to _have_ this argument!"

Leon admitted, "I just found out while we went to defeat the sorcerers. He saved us from getting killed by bandits and later, guards. He's the one that fought and won against the sorcerers. Also, Merlin never chose magic, it chose him, making him a warlock, not a sorcerer."

Before Arthur could respond, or even comprehend what Leon said, Gwaine confessed, "I suspected since I met him, but I never had it confirmed. I could've sworn that Merlin was throwing plates with magic, which I thought was hilarious. Then, when we went on the quest that I'm forbidden from talking about, the bridge man was talking about Magic and Strength arriving, and called _me_ Strength. That _really_ made me suspicious."

Percival commented, "I always knew that there was something special about Merlin, and it always felt like we had a guardian angel protecting us."

Elyan stepped up. "Honestly, I never suspected anything. But, it does make sense now. Branches falling conveniently on enemies, yet never on us, and bandits being exceptionally clumsy, dropping their weapons, falling out of trees, and having overall bad aim."

Gaius didn't say anything. He just stayed in the shadows, trying to remain inconspicuous. Sadly, everyone turned their attention towards him, expecting something to be said. When he didn't offer any words, Arthur prompted, 'Well, did you know?' fully knowing what the answer was.

With a bit, okay, a lot, of hesitation, Gaius vaguely answered, "I might've."

Noticing the looks on everyone's faces, the physician knew that he would have to elaborate.

"Fine, I knew. The very first time that I met him, he saved my life using magic, and has been saving our lives ever since. He is loyal to you and values your life over his own, which gets him nearly killed far more often than a man my age should have to worry about. If you want to know the full extent of everything he has done for you, you would have to ask the man himself. I doubt I know even half of it."

Trying to find something to prove the sorcerer's (What was Leon talking about with warlocks anyways?) guilt, Arthur spluttered, "His name's not even Merlin! It's Emrys! He's been lying to our faces this whole time!"

Leon promptly face-palmed. Was Arthur really that dumb?

"First off, his name _is_ Merlin. Emrys is kind of like a second name. Second, Emrys is a figure of prophecy, who is destined to protect the Once and Future King, and return magic to the land. Lastly, of course he's been lying to our faces! What kind of idiot would go up to someone in _Camelot_ and say 'Hi, I'm a warlock!'? He would just be _asking_ to be killed!"

"So he's been working for this Once and Future King all along? How dare he betray me like that!"

Trying to get Arthur to figure it out himself, Gaius explained, "If Emrys is Merlin, then the Once and Future King would have a different name too."

Seeing how Arthur was not comprehending in the slightest bit, the physician deadpanned, " _You_ are the Once and Future King."

The king's face made many expressions, before settling on one of confusion, and replying, "Oh."

Gwen reached forward and put a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Give him a chance, Arthur. He's never given you a reason not to trust him."

"All right," Arthur relented, "but he _will_ answer my questions."

Looking out the window he realised that the score of soldiers were probably just the beginning. Even if everyone was asleep, they would wake up eventually, and Morgana always had a plan. There was going to be another group, a much larger group, he was sure of it.

Just as their conversation finished, Merlin gently placed Morgana's corpse on the ground, before standing up, determination radiating off of him. He had an army to demolish; a kingdom to protect. Grief would come later.

With a wave of his hand, all evidence of his sobbing session disappeared. Everyone would be gathered in the council room, and he didn't want to answer any questions. He took one last glance at his dead love, and left the throne room in search of the knights, Gwen, Arthur, and Gaius.

When he got there, he immediately sensed the tense atmosphere. _Well that's to be expected. The kingdom was nearly overtaken again._

They had already agreed to act as if they hadn't seen Merlin being an all-powerful being, but that didn't stop them from being a little tense. None of them, not even Gaius, had known that Merlin had that kind of power.

"Nice of you to finally show up _Mer_ lin," said Arthur. He turned to address the entire group.

"We need to get ready for the army that will most likely come to attack. Sound the bells, spook the chickens, make noise to wake the people up.

Archers are to get to the battlements, along with some of the knights, in case some soldiers breach the wall. I will command them. Foot soldiers are to be in the courtyard. If the army gets close enough, charge them. Leon, I leave you to command the foot soldiers.

Gaius, Gwen, Merlin, set up the infirmary. If you find any wounded or dead guards or townsfolk, bring them there. The dead are to remain away from the living. When you are done, Merlin, find me at the battlements.

Elyan, Gwaine, Percival, round up the townsfolk and bring them into the citadel. Close the gates while you're at it. We'll only open them if needed. Go!"

All the people in the room instantly carried out the orders. After Merlin finished in the infirmary, Arthur kept him close at all times. Though he was quite confident that Merlin wouldn't endanger anyone, Arthur wanted to make sure that his servant didn't get an opportunity to.

Half an hour later, the preparations were done. Gaius, Gwen, and Merlin worked together set up the infirmary, which hadn't been used in quite a while. They were firtst to finish their task. The common folk were inside the citadel, but there wasn't enough time to get the people from outlying villages. They weren't too worried about that though, since the soldiers didn't attack anyone that didn't try to attack them first.

Fighters lined the courtyard. Most of them were near the gates, ready to ambush if the army got close enough. Archers were in formation at the parapets, longbows and crossbows aimed at where the army would come from.

As they expected, a few hundred men barrelled towards the gates, some mounted on horses, others not. When they came within firing range of the crossbows, bolts flew out, penetrating the leather armor the majority of the army wore. Horses were also aimed at, along with their riders, getting rid of the fastest of them.

The army kept advancing. Soon, they were within range of the longbowmen, so both weapons were firing at them. Since longbows could be shot much faster than crossbows, the men fell at a much more efficient rate.

Only a hundred or so remained by the time they got close enough for the foot soldiers to attack. On Leon's orders, the soldiers attacked the invaders, most of which were injured from the onslaught of arrows. Arbalists were ordered to stop shooting, since they needed the masterful aim of the longbowmen to take out the back.

Opposing sides fought, the enemy advancing enough to have some of their men climb the high walls of Camelot. Those that weren't shot down were quickly finished off by the knights on the battlements.

Quickly, the last of the attackers died, leaving a bloodied battlefield in their wake. Overall, it was an extremely successful battle. Very few men were lost, and the army was unable to get past the gate. The clean-up was a long one, but with all the common people's help, finished swiftly.

About a week after the attempted invasion, everything was calmed down enough to finally approach the subject that they had been avoiding. Magic. More specifically, _Merlin's_ magic.

Honestly, Merlin had noticed the awkward way all his friends were acting around him. How they'd be whispering to each other, only to stop the moment he came close. How they would look at him as if trying to figure out the answer to a question. So when Arthur called a Roundtable meeting in his royal chambers, calling Gwen and Gaius as well, Merlin was quite sure that _he_ was going to be the topic of discussion. Why? He'd find out soon enough. But there was this odd feeling of foreboding in him...

 **A/N: Sorry about how late this update was today! In case you didn't know, I try to update every Thursday. For the bows, I actually _did_ look for terms and statistics. Apparently, crossbow shooters are called arbalists or arbelists, according to the five sources on Wikipedia. Also, crossbows could shoot longer distances, but took longer to reload and shoot than longbows did. Longbows could shoot two to five times more arrows than crossbows could, at a given amount of time. Longbowmen were often trained since they were young, in order to master the craft of using their weapons. From a skimming of the Wikipedia page on it, while trying to find evidence that longbowmen is, in fact, a word, it seems that longbows used to be _much_ heavier in the past. I am imagining that the army has people like the Saxons, but she collected the army herself. If you find any mistakes that seem to need fixing, point them out! Anyways, thanks for reading, and reviews are always appreciated!**

 **Let's hope for another update on Thursday of next week!**


	12. Truth Telling

Chapter Twelve:

While walking to his master's chambers, Merlin could've sworn he heard a voice, whispering _'Emrys has awoken.'_ He'd been hearing it a lot since the battle with Morgana.

 _Morgana._

Why didn't he help her when she needed someone? Why didn't he tell her when she felt alone? Why did he poison her, without telling her the reason why? Why did he let Morgause take her? _Why?_

For the first time, he actually recalled the battle. She looked so hurt, so betrayed, when she learnt of his magic. Then, after Morgana shot magic at him, he started a ritual. In all honesty, he wasn't exactly sure what happened during that time. He had never even heard about the ritual, and definitely didn't know how to perform it. It was as if he was just carrying out the instructions given to him. But given by who?

He had no clue.

It felt like a presence gave him the instructions. A warm, but all-powerful presence. He only returned to full consciousness after the ritual was over, and the events that transpired afterwards were not pleasant.

But ever since then, he felt more _powerful_. Like he unlocked some potential he never knew he had.

 _'Emrys has awoken.'_

There it was again, though this time, it sounded a bit louder, a bit closer. But only a small amount. He could tell that the voice was still a distance away.

Reaching Arthur's room, the warlock twisted the door handle, letting himself in. Just as he expected, all the Roundtable members were already there, seated. Oddly enough, or maybe not, the moment he entered, Arthur ordered the guards to stand post much further away from the door, and then locked the doors leading into his room.

Everyone had somber faces. The only thing he could guess was that they told Gwen about his past, and she wanted him banished, but Gwen wouldn't do that. They were best friends, after all!

Arthur was first to break the tense, and awkward, silence.

"Merlin. Don't you think it's odd that Morgana just _vanished_ from the castle?"

He had hidden Morgana's corpse with a spell, until he was able to take her to the Lake of Avalon, where he burned the body. But Arthur didn't need to know that.

Rolling his eyes, Merlin responded, "Morgana was a witch, she could teleport herself out."

"Was?" Arthur asked, narrowing his eyes inquisitively.

"Was what?"

Standing up, the king went to stand directly in front of his manservant, forcing him to look him in the eye.

"You said Morgana _was_ a witch. It's not like she's dead... Is it?"

Merlin shuffled his feet uncomfortably, shifting his eyes away from his master's.

"How would I know?" he choked out.

"Well, you did watch her die, so if anyone knows if she's dead, it would be you."

It was surprising how quickly Merlin's face drained of colour.

"Wha-what are you talking about?"

Gwen, being more direct, gently said, "We saw everything."

Fear laced his voice. "Everything?"

" _Everything._ " she replied, confirming Merlin's worst fears.

 _Well, this sucks._

Suddenly, strong arms held Merlin's shoulders in a grip that could rival a vice. Reluctantly looking at his friend, the servant saw Arthur's face suddenly filled with fury.

"Everything, as in: Your confession of love to Morgana, some kind of weird ritual, and you being a _sorcerer_!" he spat. His anger, which he suppressed until now, burst out of him. He didn't even realise just how angry the whole situation made him.

Impossibly, Merlin's face got even paler. His eyes bulged, and his breathing erratic. In a few moments though, his breathing evened out, his eyes went back to their regular places inside his sockets, and Merlin's face turned stony. He twisted his way out of Arthur's grip, and expressionlessly said, "Kill me if you want, but I won't apologise."

All the people in the room gaped at their friend's readiness to die. Did he _want_ to die?

Gwaine shot up, glaring at the king.

"No! You will _not_ be getting killed. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever."

A laugh escaped Merlin, hollow and humourless.

"I have so many enemies, that I would be more shocked if I died peacefully, rather than being murdered."

Hearing that made everyone uneasy. Just _what_ did Merlin do in his spare time? Lead assassins on a wild goose chase, for the fun of it?

Gwen had made her way over to Arthur, and placed a hand on his shoulder, calming him down.

"Look, Merlin, Arthur promised to hear you out."

"Where am I supposed to start?"

"At the beginning, obviously. Who starts a story in the middle?" mocked Arthur. Really, he needed to hear the story from the beginning because no-one answered any more of his questions after the discussion.

Merlin slumped down into a chair, but before he started his tale, he asked, "Does Gwen know about my past?"

"What past?"

Hearing the confusion in her voice, Merlin just said, "I'll take that as a no."

And so he began, without leaving any parts out, or changing them to protect himself.

"A few hours after I was born, my mom and I were in our house, and the fire was dying. Since it was the middle of winter, and well into the night, Mother couldn't get any more firewood. Then, at least this is what she tells me, my eyes turned golden, and the fire grew once more, burning on nothing but ash throughout the night. This was the first time I ever used magic."

"That young?" Surprisingly enough, it was Gaius that asked the question all of them were thinking.

"Yes. Now let me talk," he chastised. "Anyways, I did little things like lighting fires, levitating objects, healing scrapes and bruises, and making plants grow. That lasted until I turned seven. Of course, until then, my powers grew, so I was able to work with larger stuff. I could levitate heavier objects, heal shallow cuts, and help make trees grow.

But that day when I turned seven, my powers started growing faster and faster. If I was really tired or in an emotional state, the slightest thing would release my magic. My mother tried to find some druids to take me in, but she couldn't find any.

Over time, I was able to gain control over both my magic and my emotions. Using magic prevented it from randomly escaping and doing whatever it pleased, whether I was awake or asleep.

I had no friends, everyone thought I was a freak, and called me a bastard because I had no father. They didn't know I had magic, just that weird things happened around me. They shoved me around, pushed me into mud, but nothing drastic. That was, until I was about eight years old.

The leader of the gang had just gotten yelled at by his parents for nearly burning their house down. I think he deserved it. Either way, when he saw me that day, he started hitting me. Punches, slaps, kicks. I was about to pass out, or accidentally let my magic loose, when Will came.

He had never taken part of the name-calling, but he never talked to me either. He preferred to stay out of it. But when he saw what they were doing, he was disgusted. Since his father was a knight, he knew how to fight pretty well, and when they all refused to stop hitting me, he made them stop.

Will took all of them on at once, taking them down, before dragging me to my house. My mother was so worried when she saw me. It took me a few weeks to heal from that, speeded up by my innate magic.

The boys ended up having to work the fields for an extra hour each day for the next month, for what they did to me. They hated it.

Every day, Will would come by to make sure I was healing all right. We became best friends, and each other's only friend. Will was a recluse, like me, and never tried to make any friends. We were inseparable.

A few years passed, and nothing important happened. The kids decided that as long as they didn't hurt me too bad, they wouldn't get punished. They still got punished for doing other stupid things.

When we were twelve, we were in the forest, gathering herbs for my mother to use. The two of us were very accident prone, and got hurt a lot. That made it easier to keep my mother from knowing about what the kids did to me. Sometimes, Will got beat up too.

So, we were in the forest, when Will saw a creek. There were a few rocks we could jump across to get to the other side, where there were lots of herbs. I told him it was dangerous, and that he shouldn't do it, but he didn't listen, and ended up slipping on one of the rocks and fell in. He was going downstream so quick, that I didn't have time to think about what to do. Instinctively, I made some branches grow and swoop Will up from the water.

He was spluttering and coughing up a bit of water, but was otherwise unharmed. I thought he might've been too confused to figure out what happened, but I was wrong.

When he realised I had magic, he thought it was the coolest thing ever, and that it would make us even better pranksters than we already were. We caused _so_ much trouble, but we never got caught.

We talked about my magic, and there were absolutely no secrets between us. So when I turned fourteen, and my mother suggested I enlist in Arnid's army, he was the first to know. His father died the year prior, fighting for King Cenred. He was one-hundred percent against the idea of me joining an army, but when I told him it was the only way Mother would survive the winter and the following years, he accepted the idea.

Lord Arnid's army wasn't great. Most of them were there to make money, like me, and didn't care about doing well. Training was easy, and I mastered most of the weapons within the year. Of course, the sword, being heavy, took longer to master. That extra attention on the sword is what really caused Arnid to want to hire me as an assassin.

I was called to the throne room, and no-one but me and him were there. He proposed a deal to me: Train to become the royal assassin, become the royal assassin, get paid the same amount as if I were still in the army, and when I actually take the role of assassin, every successful mission gives me and Mother a bonus.

Sure, I wanted to immediately reject the offer, but I wasn't that stupid. If I rejected the offer, I would probably be killed and my mother wouldn't get any money. If I took the offer, I learn some valuable skills, and make a decent amount of money. I had no friends that would realise I disappeared. Even though I despised the very idea of killing, I accepted.

Arnid and I became pretty close. I learned most of his secrets, but I kept mine close to my chest. He thought of it as a good thing that I didn't let others learn much about me. It would make me better at staying under the radar.

Since I had free reign of the castle, I went to the library whenever I wasn't practicing or sleeping. One day, I stumbled across a hidden room, which was filled to the brim with books on magic. It really helped me control my magic, which was _still_ growing.

After a year and a bit, I was finished with my training, and sent on my first field test.

I saw it as my chance to escape. My mother said that the crops have more room to grow, since they demolished some of the abandoned houses, and that I no longer needed to stay in the army.

While I was riding towards the location of my target, a group of bandits surrounded me. I noticed them, but pretended not to. They ran out of the woods, intending to kill me and take my money. I knocked them all out with my magic, stabbed the closest man, recited a spell that made him look exactly like me, stabbed my horse, made it look like there was a fight, altered the memory of the bandits to think that they killed me, just in case, and left.

I knew that Arnid would send a party to look for me, and go to my village, to make sure I wasn't there. Because of this, I lived in the forest for a year, before returning to Ealdor. My mother got a decent sum of money for my service, but when she saw me, she was so happy. I was too; we hadn't seen each other in over three years! Will and I were still as good of friends before, but not before he yelled at me for leaving him thinking I was dead for a year.

About two months later, my eighteenth birthday arrived, and my magic started growing at a rate at least double what it was growing at before. Somehow, I was able to bend time to fit my needs! We knew it was dangerous for me to stay, since Lord Arnid might find me, and my magic was getting out of control, so Mother sent me to Gaius.

I saved his life the day I met him, using magic. He figured it out instantly that I had magic. I met a dragon- yes that dragon- named Kilgharrah, who told me of a destiny: You are the Once and Future King, destined to unite the land of Albion, and restore magic back to the land. My destiny is to protect you.

I thought he was deranged from his time being kept captive, but it ended up being true. I saved your life, using magic to slow down time, and kept saving your life ever since. Most of the threats, you don't even know about.

When I saved Mordred, he called me 'Emrys.' Apparently, that is my destiny name, like how your's is 'The Once and Future King.'

Oh yeah, Balinor's my father, and I'm now a dragonlord."

He explained everything rather quickly, so everyone had to focus hard in order to catch everything he said. Occasionally, they gasped, or looked plainly confused.

After waiting a few minutes to let everything sink in, Merlin asked, "So... Any questions?"

 _'Emrys has awoken. Destiny is nearing fulfillment.'_

The voice hadn't spoken for the whole time, and now sounded like they were close enough to be near the castle walls. It wasn't just one person talking. It sounded like a group of people whispered at once.

Arthur's question of 'what have you done since you arrived?' dragged Merlin out of his thoughts.

There was a _lot_ that he had done, and he voiced this thought.

"Lots. I saved Gwen's father from the plague, used magic to blow wind to let the fire kill the afanc, killed Nimueh, killed the questing beast, killed the griffin, helped a druid girl escape," Merlin's eyes filled with sorrow on that one, "took on a few more sorcerers and sorceresses-"

"A druid girl? What did she escape from?" asked Percival.

For a few moments, Merlin didn't say anything. His head lowered, in an attempt to hide the few tears that trailed down his cheeks. Just when they thought he wouldn't answer, he did.

" _Freya._ She was captured by a bounty hunter, claiming she was cursed. He was going to _sell_ her to the king, right to her death! I couldn't just leave her, so while he was in the tavern, I used magic to let her out, and took her to the catacombs. I fed her and cared for her for the next few days, and we fell in love."

Arthur, recognising the story, begged, "Please don't tell me I-"

He couldn't finish the sentence, it was too horrible. To think he _killed_ a girl Merlin fell in love with!

The small nod dashed his small amount of hope. Gwen, confused, demanded, "What are you talking about?"

"We were supposed to run away together, but she didn't want to ruin my life; not that it would've been ruined. So she left her hiding place before I came back with supplies, hoping to get out without being caught. It didn't work.

She was found by the bounty hunter, and Arthur and the knights. She begged them to let her go, but Halig was already getting the cuffs ready. Before he could do anything, it turned to midnight, and Freya turned into a bastet. Arthur struck the blow that ended up killing her.

I took her to the Lake of Avalon, a place that looked like where we wanted to live."

Arthur, who had much less tact than the rest of them, interrogated, "So you decided to love Morgana instead?"

Another smack from Gwen. That was the second time this month!

"You cannot choose who you love! It's not like I wanted to fall in love with you, a prince, when there was nearly no chance of us ever being together, but it happened! We fell in love, and got our happily ever after, while Merlin's first love died at the hand of his best friend, and his second love commited suicide, after turning against all the people he cared about!"

That really got Arthur to realise how much his friend had lost. To lose just one loved one sucks, but to lose two? Wait, Will and Balinor died too!

Arthur looked at Merlin. Really looked. For the first time, he noticed the pain and fear that lurked in his eyes; it was always there, since the moment they met, only increasing with time. He noticed the way his shoulders seemed weighed down by an immense and unseen burden. He noticed the fear in his face.

For the first time, Arthur looked at the true Merlin, the one hidden behind the mask, and realised that the one he thought he knew, the cheerful and overly optimistic man, was simply that; a mask. A facade.

After many minutes of silence, Elyan's question of 'what happened in the throne room?' brought Arthur back to reality.

"I thought you saw it all?" Merlin questioned.

"Well, yeah, but what was with the fire and water and air and earth stuff?"

Sheepishly, he answered, "I'm not entirely sure. I just know that it made her magic leave her body, and the darkness to leave her soul."

Gwaine was next to ask.

"How are you not sure? You're the one that did it. You even had this deep echo that went with your voice."

"What echo?"

"I dunno. It just sounded like a deeper voice saying what you said, along with you."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Anyways, it was like I was just doing what I was supposed to do; mindless actions. The weird thing is, I've never even heard of the ritual," he turned to his mentor, "Gaius? Do you know?"

 _'The prophecies are near completion. Destiny is near fulfillment.'_

The physician seemed to be in deep thought, fantastic eyebrows raising every once in awhile. A minute later, he spoke, letting down all hopes for answers.

"Never have I heard about something like this happening. It is far beyond my knowledge. Perhaps someone else knows."

As if on cue, a guard knocked on the door. Groaning, Arthur called them in, before finding that they couldn't enter, as he had locked the door. Merlin got up and opened the door, after unlocking it.

Immediately, the guard stepped inside and relayed the message he was tasked with delivering.

"My lord, a group of druids have arrived, and have requested a meeting with you, as soon as possible."

Confused, he inquired, "Why?"

"They did not divulge any information, my lord. All they did say was that it was urgent, and that he wants all of you," the guard looked at every person in the room, "to be there."

"Tell them to be in the council room in thirty minutes."

"Of course, my lord." With a respectful bow, he left.

"What could this _possibly_ be about?"

 **A/N: Yeah, I had a bit of trouble with this one. My own way of speaking leaks into the characters, so Merlin's 'voice' is a bit different from in the show. *Side note* Whenever I'm typing a chapter up, I indent the paragraphs. The indents disappear when I upload the document to Doc Manager.**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Remember, I read every review, though you could probably guess that already.**


	13. Druid Lording

**A/N: Oh no! The update's up later than usual! It still got up today though. Thanks for all the reviews on my last chapter! It's great that all reviews are said kindly! Enjoy!**

Chapter Thirteen:

A rather tense and immensely awkward thirty minutes later, Arthur, Gwen, Gaius, Gwaine, Elyan, Leon, Percival, and Merlin were in the council room, awaiting the druids. As soon as the guard left Arthur's chambers, everyone looked to the warlock as if he knew why the druids were here. He gave them the twisted truth, that he had no idea _why_ the druids were there, although he had this odd feeling that it just _might_ be about him...

The great oak doors opened, letting a stream of around thirty cloaked figures enter the room. Lowering their hood, the leader smiled serenely.

"Arthur Pendragon, it is good to see you again."

The king, having recognised the man, was befuddled by the kindness shown, and decided to voice these thoughts.

"The last time we met, I threatened one of the children's lives. How could it possibly be good to see me?"

Amusement danced in his eyes. "Yet you did not harm him, so there is nothing to be upset about. Now, I assume you are wondering why we have come?"

"Yes- sorry, what is your name?"

"Iseldir."

"It's nice to see you again, under much better circumstances, Iseldir. You are right, I am wondering why you have come. Even though there is a treaty, there are a few people who don't exactly think the best of your kind. It must have been dangerous, coming here."

"It is urgent business we have with you, if not for that we would not have come. I have you to thank for the treaty though. If not for that, I have doubts all of us would be standing here today. The reason we have come, is that there has been a shift. A shift in prophecies of old, unveiling the true path that destiny leads."

All eyes shifted to the manservant, who was standing close to the wall, for some reason trying to remain unnoticed. It was obvious it didn't work when all the druids walked up to him, hoods down, and knelt.

"My lord, it is an honour to see you again," Iseldir proclaimed.

A red-faced warlock, apparently a _lord_ , answered in a tone worthy of a prince. He should know, as he had worked for one for nearly a decade.

"Rise."

As the druids rose, a grin broke out on his face and he reprimanded, "I told you to not do that. I am not above you, in any way, shape or form. If nothing else it is an honour to see you all again."

He had forgotten all about his friends, and the king, who was an _actual_ lord. They were quickly remembered again when Arthur marched up to him, and yelled, "What the bloody hell! You're a _lord_ too?"

"No," he sighed.

Seeing, or more hearing, the spluttering being done by his friends, he elaborated.

"No, I am not a lord per se. I do not own any land, or rule any people. I don't even have an army- well, I guess the Catha might count. Anyways, I think I should let Iseldir explain this; I'm still having trouble understanding it."

"Emrys is not a lord in the traditional sense, but being of his stature- the most powerful warlock to ever and will ever live and being destined to help unite the land of Albion and bring magic back to the land- we consider him one. If he asks for something, we will do it- though he has never asked anything of us."

Arthur groaned. Why couldn't he have a _normal_ servant?

"We're getting off track. King Arthur, the shift in prophecies that we mentioned, is about the prophecies about Albion. We can feel when prophecies are being fulfilled, and can also feel it when prophecies change.

Before, the prophecies stated that you were to die at the hands of Mordred-" he pointed to a young man standing in the group, "but now, they state that he will join your knights, and protect you with limitless loyalty. We felt the prophecy about you learning about Emrys' magic get fulfilled. There was also one prophecy, which we thought was a hoax because no-one could decipher exactly what it meant, that was just fulfilled.

 _'The enemies of destiny._

 _The kin of nature._

 _Opposite as can be;_

 _as similar as can be._

 _The bird full of love,_

 _the fairy full of hate._

 _The enemies of destiny._

 _The kin of nature._

 _The hate to his love,_

 _the dark to his light,_

 _the evil to his good._

 _Both doing what they thought right._

 _The enemies of destiny._

 _The kin of nature._

 _Time will come,_

 _when they see the other again._

 _Truth will be revealed,_

 _lies will be unveiled._

 _The enemies of destiny._

 _The kin of nature._

 _Love buried deep,_

 _shall arise again._

 _With the blood of opposites,_

 _and the help of the goddess,_

 _the hate and power will dissipate,_

 _from the fairy's soul._

 _Reality will be clear,_

 _her wrongs plain as day._

 _The enemies of destiny._

 _The kin of nature._

 _As opposite as can be;_

 _as similar as can be._

 _The love to his love._

 _The light to his light._

 _The good to his good._

 _For too short of time._

 _The enemies of destiny._

 _The kin of nature._

 _The lovers of life._

 _Her remorse too great,_

 _she takes a blade,_

 _and takes her life.'_

It was fulfilled just about a week ago. We all felt it; it was too great to miss. We also felt the amount of power that Emrys exuded dramatically increase. It is so strong, we could pick up a hint of it from the distance we were. Finally, we figured it out. The prophecy was about Emrys and Morgana."

Only the druids understood what was happening. Absolutely no-one else, not even Merlin, knew. Arthur broke the long, contemplative silence with a truly phenomenal question.

"Do all prophecies sound like poems written by love-struck girls?"

Everyone laughed. It was great to lessen the tension, so Leon displayed his wit.

"I thought, with all the poetry lessons you take from Merlin, that you would be able to better appreciate poems."

Even though only the three of them got the joke, everyone laughed once more.

"Poetry? Arthur, Merlin's teaching you poetry? You're learning _poetry_?" Gwaine chuckled.

It was made up as an excuse to Leon, but later on, Arthur actually asked Merlin to teach him poetry to 'make sure the excuse holds water.' Needless to say, Merlin didn't have a choice, so decided to use these lessons to find the most _peculiar_ poems he could, and force Arthur to read them out with a straight face. Leon had attended a few of these lessons, actually.

After the laughter died down, Arthur queried, "But what makes this so important we need to know?"

The joyous atmosphere disappeared, the mood turned somber once more.

Iseldir explained, "We actually only needed to tell Emrys something, but thought all of you should hear it as well. Merlin, explain what it felt like while you were confronting Morgana."

"Uh, it was weird, I guess. I'm not really sure what I did, just that all the elements were summoned, and something happened with our blood. I felt disconnected from reality, kind of like I was a puppet doing what it was told to do. I felt a presence, that's for sure. It was warm, and all-powerful. It was more powerful than anything I've ever experienced, and I _know_ that I won't experience anything more powerful. Gwaine said there was an echo that went along with my voice. I only returned to full consciousness after the ritual was over, even though I felt a tad dizzy. Ever since then, I've felt more powerful."

The druids gasped, more in awe than in surprise. Iseldir spoke again.

"Emrys, this- this is something beyond all imagining. It was thought to be only legend, that none would have such privilege as to have it happen to them. The Triple Goddess _herself_ was the presence. She was the one that guided you to do this task, to help fulfill your destiny. As the only limit to your power is how much of it you can properly handle, she must have removed the limits. You are essentially the incarnation of the Triple Goddess."

At this, all the druids immediately scrambled to the floor, shins on the ground, leaning forward with heads touching the ground too, as one would do when hailing someone a hero, which he was to them. To be in his presence was considered an honour before this, but now, there were no words to describe how much of an honour and privilege it was.

"Please, stop. I have done nothing to deserve such admiration. We are equals, as I've said before. I do not wish to be above you."

After a few more minutes, the druids slowly got up. Arthur and everyone else were _very_ confused. Merlin himself was a little confused as well.

Iseldir turned to Arthur. "All there is to do, is to legalise magic and unite the land of Albion. Also, since Mordred is going to end up becoming one of your knights anyways, you might as well start training him."

The king just nodded, unsure of what else to do.

oOo

A few weeks after the meeting with the druids, Merlin had worked up the courage to deal with his and Mordred's history.

"So a dragon, which you ended up freeing, told you that I was going to kill Arthur?"

"Yeah..."

"And you believed him?"

"Dragons are unable to lie."

"That might be true, but still! I was a child!"

"Thanks for guilt-tripping me into coming to help you in the end, I don't think I would've been able to live with myself if I knew I had left you to die."

"You're welcome? How come you tried to get me killed those other two times?"

"When Morgana was at your druid camp, trying to find out more about her magic, Uther thought she was kidnapped, and ordered Arthur to take some knights and find the camp. I tried to warn you and help you escape, but I was stupid and forgot to cover my tracks. Arthur found the remains of my small fire, and was able to use it to track me. It was my fault that people died that day, even if accidental."

"Oh, I thought that you did that on purpose. What about the last time?"

"Alvarr was dangerous, and both you and Morgana were being used by him. I tried to trip you, to stop you from being with him again, but nearly killed you. Kilgharrah also told me of a prophecy in which you and Morgana are united in evil, and that the alliance must be stopped, whatever the cost. Sorry about that too."

"Are you sure that you weren't being used by Kilgharrah?"

"I kind of was, probably. He wanted to be free, and was able to make me swear to free him. I guess we both were being used in one way or another."

"Hmm. You're right."

"Forgive and forget?"

"Funny you say that, considering how I said the exact opposite to you."

"Come on, Mordred."

"Fine, forgive and forget."

"Yes!"

Feeling lighter than he had in years, Merlin left with a smile on his face.

 **A/N: This is the last chapter! Unless you want another chapter in which Arthur's trying to get magic legalised again, and maybe unite the land. Or maybe it would be an epilogue. Who knows? If I can figure it out, I'll probably create a poll in a week or so, asking for your fabulous opinions!**

 **A thank you to _all_ the people who have read, reviewed, favourited, and followed this story!**

 **Special shoutout to BooksAreMedicine! You've reviewed on every chapter so far, and I really appreciate your criticism! (To be honest, I agree with your points.) :P**

 **Update: I created a poll a few days ago, it's on my profile! Please vote!**


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